Secret Agent Man
by Beaglicious
Summary: She broke her arm, and then she broke his heart. AU. No spoilers. SC.
1. The Accident

Secret Agent Man

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to CBS and associated parties, not me. _Secret Agent Man_ was written by P.F. Sloan and S. Barri and recorded by Johnny Rivers, and I make no claim to it either.

A/N: This multi-chapter story is AU and based on the premise that Tim was never a CSI, but instead a UC agent for the FBI. FRT for mild violence, language and sexual content. No spoilers. SC.

Prompt: Written for the MiamiFicTalk prompt challenge. Prompt #12 – Broken.

_There's a man who leads a life of danger_

_To everyone he meets he stays a stranger_

_Secret agent man, secret agent man_

_They've given you a number and taken away your name_

_- Secret Agent Man_

Chapter One: The Accident

The summer air in Miami was so heavy with moisture that Calleigh Duquesne felt like she should be swimming instead of walking. The humidity was hovering at ninety percent, and there was no sign of rain in the forecast. This time of year one could practically set one's watch by the daily afternoon rainstorms, but they'd gone three days without one now, and the soupy nature of the air reflected the rain's absence.

Calleigh opened the door to her car, waiting for a moment before climbing in. The car had tinted windows, and she had left it parked in the shade, but even so, the inside temperature was well over 100 degrees. When the worst of the heat had rushed out, she got in, turning over the engine and immediately cranking up the A/C.

While the car cooled off, Calleigh lifted her hair off her neck and fanned it. Several darker blond strands stuck to her neck, and she wished for the hundredth time that day that she had remembered to bring a hair band to work. She sighed and let her hair fall back down on her shoulders. It wouldn't matter soon. In twenty minutes she would be home, and she could strip down to her bra, panties and a tank top. She was already imagining the large glass of ice water that she would fix, and how she could hold the cool glass against her forehead in between sips.

Calleigh placed her hands tentatively on the steering wheel, ready to yank them away if it was too hot. Only the foolhardy planted their bare palms on a steering wheel in Miami without first checking. The metal buckle of her seatbelt was still hot, but she gritted her teeth and slid it quickly across her body. She was ready to be at home. With her sunglasses in place, Calleigh threw the car into reverse and backed out of the parking lot.

She drove leisurely across the city, for once not minding the extra traffic that Friday afternoons always brought. She watched in her rearview mirror as two cars raced up behind her, cutting in and out of the traffic lanes. They parted at her bumper, one taking the lane to the right and the other the lane to the left. Calleigh shook her head as the two cars continued to swerve in and out of the traffic ahead of her. They weren't going to get to their destination any faster than she was, but they were going to end up causing an accident if they didn't cut it out.

The thought had no sooner formed in her mind than she saw it played out on the highway before her. The second car, a low-slung black sedan, flashed its brake lights briefly before slamming into the back of the mid-sized SUV that it had been chasing. The nose of the sedan crumpled underneath the SUV's bumper, and the windshield buckled and cracked as it smashed into the SUV's trailer hitch.

"Thanks, guys," Calleigh muttered, reaching for her cell phone. Although she was officially off duty, it was still her responsibility to at least call in the accident in and wait until a patrol car arrived. She steered her car over to the shoulder of the road and put it in park.

Calleigh pushed her sunglasses up on her head and surveyed the wreck. Horns began to blare angrily as tired drivers found themselves stuck in instant gridlock.

Calleigh dialed the main police switchboard and waited as the line began to ring. She tore her eyes away from the scene for a second to rummage in her glove compartment for some accident forms. The operator came on the line just as her head popped back up above the dash.

"Miami-Dade Police Department," the operator said in a weary voice. "How may I direct your call?"

"This is CSI Duquesne," she began, rummaging in her purse for a pen. "I need to report an automobile accident."

"Hold, please," the woman said. Calleigh stifled a groan as the phone began to ring again.

She opened the door of her car and hopped out, her chest nearly collapsing under the suffocating heat. This really was not on her afternoon agenda, she thought grumpily.

"Hey," she called out to the two drivers, who were both emerging from their cars, looking a little dazed but all in one piece. "Hey, Miami-Dade police. I need to see both y'all's license and registration."

The men ignored her and began speaking with each other, pointing at the cars' bumpers. Within seconds, their conversation increased in volume, and Calleigh watched in horror as one of the drivers landed a solid punch on the other driver's face. The beaten man staggered back a few steps, his hand flying to his nose, the bright red blood spewing from between his fingers. He shook his head, growled, and charged at the other driver. Their bodies collided with a sickening thud before falling to the ground. Fists began to fly in both directions, and traffic came to a dead standstill in all lanes as other drivers stopped to gawk openly.

"Cut it out!" Calleigh yelled, dropping her forms and sprinting over to the two men, her cell phone still to her ear. "Stop it!" She had just reached the men and was grabbing for one of them when a second operator, sounding as bored as the first, picked up the line.

"Miami-Dade Police Department. Who are you holding for?"

"I have a car accident and assault in progress," she yelled into the phone, stepping back from the two men to finish her phone call. "I need backup and uniforms to the scene immediately."

The operator straightened up and took Calleigh's location efficiently, her attention now piqued. "I have two patrol cars five minutes out," she told Calleigh. "Can you control the scene until then?"

"I don't have much of choice now, do I?" Calleigh answered, adding a quick thanks to temper her sarcasm before flipping her phone shut.

In the brief moment that Calleigh had taken to call in the incident, several motorists had stepped from their cars, warily approaching the feuding men.

"Get back!" Calleigh yelled at the bystanders. She moved in towards the men, quickly assessing the fastest and safest way to separate them. The moment came, and she lunged forward to grab one of the men around the waist and pull him back. He stumbled backwards and tripped, sending him and Calleigh tumbling towards the ground. Calleigh let out a cry as her elbow connected with the asphalt, then bit her lip hard enough to draw blood when she heard the sickening sound of her bone snapping in two. Pain surged through her body, and stars flashed before her eyes.

She released the man and rolled onto her side, her unbroken left arm reaching over to cradle her broken right one. She looked down and blanched when she saw not only blood but also the jagged edge of bone poking out through her skin. Calleigh's head began to spin, and she managed to avoid falling into unconsciousness only by digging her nails into her palms.

A collective cry rose up from the onlookers, and Calleigh glanced up. Freed from his attacker's onslaught, the other man had retreated to his car and was now brandishing a shotgun. His face was twisted into a mean snarl, and he was advancing upon the other driver and Calleigh at a rapid pace.

Calleigh stumbled to her feet, her own gun lying useless on the passenger seat of her car. The gunman averted his gaze from the other driver, who was still lying on the asphalt, coughing and spitting blood, and leveled his gaze at Calleigh.

"Don't move, lady," he growled, and Calleigh froze.

The wail of sirens cut through the noise. "Are you a cop?" he asked, and Calleigh nodded. "Did you call those?" he asked. She nodded again.

"Look," she said, interrupting him. "Just put the gun down. No one has been hurt yet. It was just a fender bender. Worst-case scenario, your insurance is going to go up. But if you shoot me…"

"Shut up," he yelled at her, waving the gun around wildly. "Just shut up!"

Calleigh nodded, averting her eyes discretely towards her car. Her own cell phone had rolled out of reach when she had fallen to the ground, but if she could just get back to her car, then she could use the radio to call for more back up and let the responding officers know what they were up against. Calleigh took one small step backwards, and then another.

"Where do you think you're going?" the gunman yelled, and Calleigh froze. "I told you not to move!"

Despite the sweat that she could feel running down the side of her face, Calleigh shivered. Her stomach instantly went sour as she saw him pump the shotgun. This was it, she thought. Her life was going to end here, on a Friday afternoon in the middle of Miami rush hour.

Suddenly, her eyes widened. Sneaking up behind the gunman, his service pistol drawn and cocked, was a slender man, the details of his chiseled face concealed by a thick five o'clock shadow. His eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses, but Calleigh imagined that they were as dark as the short hair that was curling above his ears. He caught Calleigh's eyes and shook his head, pausing only briefly to flash her his badge.

From her vantage point Calleigh had no way of telling what division he was with, or even if his badge was valid. All she had seen was a brief flash of gold, and then it was gone, the man's grasp once again firmly secured on the butt of his gun.

Calleigh forced herself to focus her gaze back on the gunman. He was still yelling, screaming and waving his shotgun about. Based on the rage he was in, Calleigh doubted that his aim was very accurate, but she also knew that with shotguns, accurate aim was not needed. Her only hope for getting out of this mess alive rested either on the back-up officers, if and when they arrived, or the mysterious agent who was slowly advancing on the gunman. She could only pray that his accuracy was better than the man he was stalking.

She readjusted her grip on her arm and winced. She needed to get to a hospital, and soon. Aside from the immediate worry of the blood loss she was sustaining, there was also the risk of infection, which was compounding at an accelerated rate the longer she stood with her broken bone exposed to the open air.

Calleigh discretely slid her eyes to the right again. The armed agent was still advancing on the gunman, his attention focused completely on him. His movements were as slick as a cat's, and despite the severity of the situation, she couldn't help but admire his gracefulness.

The sirens continued to wail, drawing ever closer. The gunman continued to rant, but he was lucid enough to keep his gaze and aim trained on Calleigh. She closed her eyes. It would only be a few minutes now…

A cry rang out through the air. "Hey, lady, get down!" Calleigh fell to the ground, knowing instinctively that the voice yelling at her belonged to the agent who was trying to save her. She collapsed, shielding her arm as best she could but unable to keep from jarring it as she fell. She heard the pistol fire, followed by a muffled scream, and then winced as the unmistakable sound of a shotgun firing filled the air. The bystanders who had left their cars screamed and ran. Calleigh rolled onto her back, relieved to still be alive, and then faded from consciousness.

It was only a few moments later when she felt someone touching her. Warm, strong arms slipped beneath her body and lifted her, pulling her close to a well-muscled chest. "You're going to be fine," a gravely voice said, and Calleigh recognized through her haze of pain that it was the same voice that had yelled for her to get down. She forced her eyes open and gazed into a dark pair of worried eyes.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

He smiled at her, and Calleigh's heart flipped over on top of itself. "Let's get you to a hospital, okay? It's going to be quicker if I take you myself. Is that okay?"

"Are you really a cop?" she asked. Despite being enamored by his looks and charm, Calleigh was still lucid enough to realize that she had no idea if this man really was who he claimed to be.

He nodded and handed Calleigh his badge. "I'm a federal agent. Are you okay with me taking you to a hospital?"

Calleigh briefly glanced at the badge, decided to take her chances, and nodded before closing her eyes.

_Secret Agent Man..._

The next time she regained consciousness was when the agent lifted her body out of the back of his car. She opened her eyes, recognizing the Emergency entrance to Miami General. "I need a gurney," he yelled. Calleigh closed her eyes again.

"Hey," he said to her, rousing Calleigh from her daze. "I'm going to have to leave you in a minute, okay? You're going to be in very capable hands; I've made sure of that."

"Why can't you stay?" Calleigh asked. "I don't even know your name."

"I'm UC," he said, smiling ruefully. "But if I'd known that someone as pretty as you was running around Miami, then I might have chosen another career."

She smiled. "I'm Calleigh Duquesne, Miami CSI."

"It's my pleasure, Miss Duquesne. Is there anyone you need me to call? A husband? Boyfriend?" His rich brown eyes staring so concernedly into her own warmed her, even as her body began to shiver from the shock of blood loss.

Calleigh shook her head. "No, there's no one like that. But can you call my boss? He'll know what to do. His name is Horatio Caine, and he's head of the…."

"I know who he is," he said quickly, his voice flat and his gaze distant. It was gone as quickly as it came, and his voice resumed its soothing tone. "I'll call him. He'll make sure everything is taken care of."

He was going to say more, but two nurses with a gurney were rushing towards them. He gently laid her down on the gurney, pausing briefly to brush her hair out of her face before speaking to the nurses. "She broke her arm apprehending a suspect," he told them. "She's a Miami-Dade police officer, and I expect her to be treated as such. Her boss is Horatio Caine. I'm about to call him. Take good care of her, okay? I think she's going into shock."

"You're not staying?" one of the nurses asked. "We'll need you to fill out paperwork."

"Take it up with her boss," he said, stepping back. "I'll speak with him. He'll get you all the paperwork you need."

"Wait," Calleigh said, reaching out to grab his hand. "I never got your name."

He looked down at her, smiling in spite of himself. She was beautiful, and had effortlessly captured his heart in the few minutes they'd spent together. He was sorely tempted to break his UC contract just so he could stay with her.

"If I tell you," he said, "Can you keep it to yourself?"

She nodded.

"It's Tim," he said, bending down to whisper his name into her ear. Calleigh shivered at the feel of his breath blowing across her face. "Good-bye, Miss Duquesne."

"It's Calleigh," she cried out, but he was already gone, striding purposefully across the pavement. One of the nurse stepped in front of her, blocking her view, and Calleigh closed her eyes. He was gone. The nurse covered her with a thin sheet, and Calleigh drifted from consciousness.

_Secret Agent Man..._

It was several hours before a wave of pain roused Calleigh. She opened her eyes and moaned as pain radiated through her.

"Calleigh?" a familiar voice asked. Calleigh forced her eyes to focus on the figure sitting at the end of her bed.

"Horatio?" she whispered. "My arm?"

"Your arm's going to be just fine, sweetheart," he told her, standing up. "They had to put a couple of pins in it, and you'll have to stay on IV antibiotics for a few days, but you'll be alright."

Calleigh nodded. "What about those two guys?"

Horatio's face clouded for an instant. "We got them," he said.

"Who got them?" Calleigh asked, now fully awake and momentarily oblivious to the pain.

Horatio tilted his head and looked at Calleigh. "We're not sure," he said finally. "Most likely it was that UC agent who brought you to the hospital. The responding officers said that the suspects were already cuffed when they arrived."

"You don't know who it was?" Calleigh asked. Horatio shook his head.

"But he said he knew you… When I asked him to call you…"

"Shh, sweetheart," Horatio interrupted, placing a hand on her forehead. "You're burning up. You need something for the fever. I'm going to call the nurse, okay?"

"You know who he is, Horatio!" Calleigh called out as Horatio turned to leave her room. "I know you do!"

Horatio continued to walk away, stopping briefly to speak with the nurse, who hurried in and pushed a syringe of something into Calleigh's IV. "No," she muttered weakly, even as the drug pushed her back into sedation. "I want to see Tim..."

_Secret Agent Man..._

The next time Calleigh awoke it was dark, and the bedside clock indicated that it was after midnight. Despite being groggy from the day's ordeal as well as the medication, Calleigh sensed that she was not alone.

"Horatio?" she called out, assuming that he had returned. "Are you there?"

A dark figure emerged from the shadows of the corners of her room. "I'm not Horatio," he said quietly. "Is that who you want?"

"Tim," Calleigh said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Is that you?"

He moved closer, until he was right next to her bed. He took her good hand in his and clutched it firmly. "We're better off not using names here, okay?"

Calleigh nodded. "You came back."

He nodded as well. "You're a hard woman to forget," he said, his face taking on a wistful look.

"Thank you again for today," Calleigh said.

Tim shrugged off her thanks. "You would have been fine without me. I did some checking up on you, Bullet Girl."

Calleigh smiled. "Probably so, if I hadn't broken my arm. But then I wouldn't have met you."

"There's not many people who view meeting me as a positive point," he said. The sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway, and Tim looked around warily.

"You're going to have to go soon, aren't you?" Calleigh asked.

He nodded. "I risked too much coming here as it was. But I had to make sure that you were okay."

"Horatio said he didn't know you. I didn't tell him your name, but…."

"Don't worry about Horatio," he said, brushing a few hairs off her face. "I wish it didn't have to be like this," he said quietly. "I was supposed to…" he stopped.

"You were supposed to what?"

"Never mind," he said, shaking his head. "You get some rest, okay?"

"Will you stay until I fall asleep? I'm tired of being told that I need to get some rest and then having some nurse come in and push drugs in my IV until I don't have a choice in the matter."

He laughed at her cross tone. "Of course."

Tim leaned down to kiss her forehead, but Calleigh jerked her face up at the last minute, and his lips crashed into hers. Calleigh moaned and parted her lips, giving Tim far more encouragement than he needed….

_TBC..._


	2. Homecoming

Chapter Two: Homecoming

Two days later Calleigh was discharged, and although she had a parade of concerned co-workers to escort her from her hospital room to her apartment, she quickly shooed them off once she was settled. "I haven't been alone in nearly three days," she told them.

The team reluctantly agreed to leave when Calleigh reminded them that she would be back at work the next morning. Horatio opened his mouth to protest, but Calleigh cut him off. "Just for desk duty, Horatio. I'm going to go absolutely mad if I have to sit at home all day. Besides," she added, gesturing to her cast, "I can't do much of anything until this comes off." Horatio nodded, but added that he would send her home in a heartbeat if he thought she wasn't ready to be at work. She had no sooner shut and bolted the door than the doorbell rang.

"Now what?" she grumbled, looking around for a jacket or purse that anyone might have forgotten.

She opened the door without checking the peephole, and was halfway through asking who had forgotten what before she realized who was standing on her stoop.

"Ti-" she said, her voice dying off into a whisper. "What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" he asked brusquely, and Calleigh nodded, knowing that even though it was foolhardy to allow a man she hardly knew into her apartment, Tim was likely to bolt if she kept him out in the open. It had been the unfortunate timing of a nurse who'd sent him running that night in the hospital. He had just pulled back from their kiss and was about to speak when the nurse popped her head in to check on Calleigh. Tim faded into the shadows, and as soon as the nurse left, he disappeared without a word. Calleigh was dying to know what he had been about to say.

Once Tim was in, Calleigh shut the door behind her and turned to face him. Tim had stuffed his hands into his front pockets and was rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet nervously.

"Well?" she asked, giving him a flirty smile before flouncing off to sit on the couch.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine," she said, settling back into the couch cushions. "Really. And what I really want is some alone time."

"Calleigh?" Tim asked, following her around to take a seat in a chair opposite the couch. "We need to talk. I haven't exactly been honest with you."

The smile faded from Calleigh's face. Here she was, a trained police officer who had lectured to hundreds of high school girls about safety, alone and unarmed in her own living room with a man she barely knew. Calleigh began to move slowly down the couch, trying to put as much space between her and Tim. If she could make it to the end of the couch, then she could grab the fire poker. It was no match for a gun, but it could knock him senseless long enough for her to escape from the apartment.

Tim's eyes followed Calleigh's movements and lighted on the fire poker. "Calleigh, it's not like that," he said, reaching down to his waistband for his badge. "I really am a federal agent."

Calleigh snorted. "Sure you are," she said, finally reaching her target and wrapping her fingers securely around the cool wrought iron.

"Calleigh, what I meant was that my appearance at the crime scene was not merely fortuitous. We – I – had both those guys under surveillance. They're in real deep with one of Miami's most dangerous drug cartels. There was a, uh, complication with a delivery and that's why they were running. And it's also why they started brandishing weapons. They really didn't want to be taken in by the cops."

Calleigh nodded at Tim to continue, but her grip around the poker remained firm. "Why should I believe you?"

He smirked. "Don't you think that if I was going to kill you or hurt you I would have already done so? If I'd wanted you dead, you would have left that crime scene in a body bag. Trust me, Princess, I'm here for your own good."

"I don't need your help," Calleigh hissed. "So cut out the knight-in-shining-armor routine and get the hell out of my apartment."

Tim leaned back into the chair and sighed. "It's not that easy."

_Secret Agent Man…_

Two hours later, Tim had revealed as much as he could about his UC case, handling Calleigh's rapid-fire questions with ease and never once sighing with impatience when answering one of her questions prompted ten more.

"So what you're saying is that by me stopping to fill out the accident report and getting in the middle of those guys, I'm now in danger of being killed by the drug cartel?" Her tone was incredulous.

Tim nodded, his face grave. "Those two guys have some powerful information against the cartel's higher ups. The idea of either of them rolling is making a lot of big wigs very nervous. They know we'll have those two under tight security, so it's easier to go after you. If they get to you, it will send a message to anyone else who might testify that they're better off developing a sudden case of amnesia."

Calleigh continued. "And so you've been assigned to protect me, like you're some sort of Secret Service Agent?"

Again, Tim nodded.

"How in the hell are you supposed to protect me when you're a UC? Besides, I work at the _police department._ I couldn't be in a safer place." Calleigh crossed her arms as best she could and glared at Tim.

"Look, Princess, I don't like this anymore than you do. Do you think I wanted to get stuck on protective custody detail?" His tone was surly. Her beauty had wowed him, but _she_ was turning out to be a real pain. "This is still my case, even if my UC position was compromised by me helping you."

"Oh well this is just great. Now it's _my _fault that you have to baby-sit me?" Calleigh asked indignantly, flinging her good arm in the air before rising to her feet. "I hope you don't think you're staying in my apartment."

"As if I'd even want to," Tim snarled, rising with her. "I'll be out in my car."

"And how are you supposed to keep an eye on me way out there?" Calleigh demanded, already having an inkling as to what the answer was and not liking it one bit.

Tim smirked at her, confirming her thoughts. "You're a CSI," he said. "You know how we keep tabs on people."

"So this place is already bugged?"

Tim nodded.

"What about my privacy?" Calleigh snapped. "How am I supposed to shower or change clothes with you spying on me?"

Tim moved in close to Calleigh, knowing that it would throw her off-balance. Sure enough, her glare weakened just the slightest bit, but to her credit, she stood her ground.

"Pick your poison, Princess," he muttered into her ear. "I can either sleep in the bed with you, or I can listen in from my car. Your choice."

Calleigh stepped back and the tension between them dissipated. "Fine," she huffed, swirling around and heading for the back hallway. "But don't expect me to change my schedule to suit you."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Tim fired back before retreating from the apartment. Using the spare key he'd made earlier, he locked the door behind him and took one last look around. All clear. Now he just had to make sure that things stayed that way.

_Secret Agent Man…_

Calleigh lay in her bed, exhausted but too keyed up to sleep. Performing even the simplest of tasks was proving quite difficult, thanks to her dominant hand being in a hard plaster cast from wrist to shoulder. She'd finally managed to change out of her clothes and into her pajamas, but her arm was throbbing with the effort.

Her room was dark and quiet, and normally she would have slipped right off to sleep. But knowing that Tim was out there, watching her every movement, listening to her every breath, rattled her. She hoped that he hadn't heard some of the more fanciful expletives she uttered earlier that evening, vocalizing both her frustration with her broken arm and Tim's bombshell announcement.

Calleigh wondered what Tim was doing to pass the time. Surely he wasn't planning on spending the evening staring up at her bedroom window? She desperately wanted to look out the window, but as it overlooked the parking lot, she had no doubt that Tim would be staring right back up at her, his vantage point significantly better than hers. With a loud sigh, she snuggled under the covers and shut her eyes, willing herself to fall asleep. And although she tried to clear her mind of all the thoughts racing through it, she found that Tim was all she could think of.

Below her, just as Calleigh had predicted, sat Tim. Pushing his legs out as far as they would go, he stretched and yawned. Protective custody would be a breeze if he could read. It was too bad that the risk of the light attracting unwanted attention was too great.

Tim leaned back in his seat and sighed. A small smile played across his face as he heard Calleigh sigh and rustle the covers. She'd had a rough go of it earlier that evening, and even though he had kept audio bugs out of the bathroom for decency's sake, he'd still heard her colorful vocalizations. The more frustrated she became, the more her accent thickened, and by the time she was finished, she was rattling off phrases that Tim had never before heard. There was a trick to undressing with a broken arm, something he'd learned first hand after the snowmobile accident that had eventually claimed his best friend's life, but he was going to let her struggle with it for a few more days first. By then, she might be willing to listen to him.

His smile faded as he thought about the kiss they'd shared a few days previous. That had been a monumentally stupid move on his behalf, he thought. After years on the job, he should know have better than to let a pretty face distract him from his duties, although he had been genuinely worried about Calleigh's wellbeing. He'd heard the bone snap as she fell, had seen its jagged edges poking through her skin, had watched as within minutes she went woozy from blood loss. That was probably why she'd been so nice, he figured. Still, it had been an unbelievable kiss, one that no matter how many times he rubbed at his mouth, he couldn't get rid of the feeling. Tim shook his head. It would be so much easier to forget her – and the kiss – if he hadn't been assigned to protect her. But he was stuck with her until the two men he'd been following, and hopefully more, ended up behind bars. He hoped that for once the constitutional promise of a fair and speedy trial would hold through. He didn't know how long he could handle battling with Calleigh on a daily basis if she was going to act like this. He'd had his fair share of protective custody cases, more than one of which had had significant complications, but Calleigh was quickly proving to be the most difficult yet. It was obvious that she wasn't going to make the slightest effort to help him out.

Determined to rid his mind of Calleigh, Tim stuck the earpieces of his MP3 player in his ears and selected his favorite playlist. The music was loud, guaranteed to keep him awake, but even the rapid-fire lyrics and pounding drums failed to derail his thoughts from Calleigh and the tantalizing moan that had escaped from her mouth when his lips had met hers…

_TBC…_


	3. Adjustment

Chapter 3: Adjustment

If Tim had thought that a good night's rest in her own bed would improve Calleigh's disposition, he was quickly reeducated the following morning. Grumpy himself due to lack of sleep and stiff from sitting in the car, he met the disdainful look on Calleigh's face with an equally vicious snarl of his own.

"I told you I didn't need this," Calleigh told him as she strolled over to his car and leaned through the open passenger seat window.

"You're liable to start needing protection from me," he grumbled under his breath.

Calleigh ignored him, taking a deep breath and exhaling instead. "I'm sorry," she said, forcing a smile. "My arm hurts, and I didn't sleep very well last night. I'm not much of a morning person even on the best of days."

Her abruptly cheerful demeanor was almost as exhausting as her bad mood. "Get in," he said, leaning over to open the door. "We need to talk about how things are going to work around here."

"I don't have a choice do I?"

"You always have a choice, Princess. Either you do as I say, and I stay out of your way, or you ignore me and you don't breath without me saying it's okay. Got it?"

Calleigh crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "I'm listening."

"I'll drive you to work every morning. It's just as well that you're under protective custody, because you're not driving yourself anywhere with your arm like that. When you get to work, you are to immediately check in with Horatio. He's responsible for watching you during the day. You don't leave the building without his okay, got me? When you're ready to leave –"

"Wait a second. What if Horatio's not there? Say, maybe, he's out working a case, or in court? Far-fetched possibilities, I know, but he might have better things to do than baby-sit me." Her words dripped with sarcasm.

"Don't worry about that," he said, blowing off her concerns. "Now, when you're ready to leave, I want you to wait for me in the lobby."

"I am not going to sit around all afternoon and wait for you."

"Would you just listen to me? I wouldn't dare inconvenience you. Now, when-"

Calleigh sighed loudly. "I got it, okay? I don't go anywhere without you. How can I anyways, when I'm dependent on you for transportation? Now can we get going please?"

Tim paused, wondering if he'd gone too far. He wasn't trying to be harsh, but if he gave her any indication that his rules were up for debate, it would be all over with. He nearly apologized, but caught himself in time and merely nodded his head instead. "Fair enough. Let's get going then."

Calleigh reached over and buckled her seatbelt. The drive to the Crime Lab was quiet, the mood icy. Tim was glad that Calleigh didn't live that far away. When he pulled into the parking lot, he slid off his seat belt and climbed out of the car, taking a quick look around.

After a moment he realized that Calleigh was still sitting in the car. He walked over to her door and opened it. "Are you getting out?"

"I was waiting for your permission," she said sweetly, her lips turned up in a teasing smile.

"Look, Calleigh, these rules are only to keep you safe."

"I know that," she grumbled. "You don't have to be such an ogre," she added after moment. "I'll do exactly as you say."

"All right then." Tim stepped back and she stepped out of the car. Reflexively, she titled her head up, taking a moment to enjoy the warm rays from the morning sun. Tim studied her discretely, taking in every curve of her body. Perhaps he had been a bit harsh with her. She was more than competent enough to follow directions. He was just about to open his mouth to apologize when she began walking. Tim fell in line behind her, keeping one eye on her and one eye on their surroundings.

He stopped at the bottom on the stairs, allowing Calleigh to walk the last few feet into the building on her own. He waited for her to turn around and acknowledge him, but she disappeared through the glass doors without once looking back. Tim focused his gaze upwards, towards a second story window where a man stood. The morning rays fell on the man's face, making his auburn hair seem as if it was on fire, and giving Tim no doubt that he was frowning. Tim nodded at him, but Horatio did not return the favor. Instead, he shook his head slowly a few times, then turned and moved away from the window.

To hell with them all, Tim thought, heading back to his car. He was going to take a shower, and then he was going to get some rest. With any luck, his afternoon encounter with Calleigh would go more smoothly than this morning's had.

Tim was waiting in the lobby for Calleigh when she walked up. "How did you know?" she asked, checking her watch. "I'm not due off for another half hour."

"I told you I wouldn't keep you waiting, Princess," he reminded her. He felt much better than he had that morning, and he couldn't resist teasing her a bit. "I can leave and come back in half an hour if you like."

She frowned at him, but there was a smile in her eyes that told him that she wasn't really irritated with him. "I guess I shouldn't have doubted you this morning," she mused.

"Apology accepted," Tim quipped, and her eyes flashed briefly with surprise and irritation. "You'll realize sooner or later that I'm always right," he told her.

Calleigh rolled her eyes and started walking towards the car. Tim fell in line beside her. "How's your arm?" he asked, all earlier traces of cockiness and arrogance gone.

Calleigh thought briefly about giving him a flippant answer, but could tell from his tone that his question was sincere enough. "It hurts," she answered honestly. After a day of shrugging off her co-workers' concerns, she'd had enough of dancing around the truth.

They reached the car. Calleigh buckled up and leaned her head back, clearly exhausted. "Do you need to do anything?" Tim asked. "Grocery store, maybe?"

"I really just want to go home." Tim nodded.

"Home we go then."

_Secret Agent Man…_

Two weeks passed, and Tim and Calleigh settled into a fairly amicable routine. Tim would drive Calleigh to work every morning, then disappear, never failing to always be waiting for her in the lobby, no matter how early or late she left work. He'd then take her home, always asking if she needed to make any stops. Too exhausted from work and dealing with her broken arm, as well as the continued stress of waiting to go to trial, Calleigh usually declined. One afternoon, however, feeling better than usual, she asked Tim to take her to the mall, laughing richly when the color drained from his face.

Despite disliking the circumstances she was in, Calleigh appreciated Tim's presence in her life, not that she would ever admit that to him. She'd already been to several depositions with the district attorneys, and it was slowly starting to sink in just how involved this case was. She'd only been witness to a minor traffic accident, and they were going to ridiculous lengths to protect her. She could only imagine the intensity of the security surrounding more pivotal witnesses.

Once at home, Tim would quickly check Calleigh's apartment, making sure that all was clear and that the bugs were still in place and functioning. Tim, like Calleigh, thought that protective custody was a bit much, but the orders had come from very high up, and he had no choice but to comply. With his UC status blown for the case, it was just as well. He liked to see his cases through to the end, and had he not been assigned to watch Calleigh, he would have been reassigned to another case, leaving him with the dissatisfied feeling of having only half-finished his previous job.

Once the house was cleared to Tim's satisfaction, he would grunt, "Looks good," and make for the door. Calleigh had offered for him to stay for supper or to bring him coffee on more than one occasion, but he'd rebuffed all her offers, which always relieved Calleigh, as she was never quite sure of her motivations for doing so. Calleigh usually managed to get in a quick "Thank you," before the door slammed shut in her face. And that was the extent of their conversation until the day Calleigh started mumbling about her cast while Tim was checking out her apartment…

Tim was in the back of the apartment, doing his final sweep. Calleigh sat down on the couch and closed her eyes, trying not to think about Tim rifling through her things. It was beyond humiliating. She turned on the TV and flipped rapidly through the channels, coming to the conclusion that, as usual, there was nothing worth watching on TV.

Calleigh settled down deeper in the couch, kicking off her shoes and stretching her legs down the length of the couch. "I shouldn't have sat down. The idea of having to undress around this cast is getting to be more than I can handle."

Tim was returning from the back of the apartment when he heard Calleigh speak. He looked over at her. Her good arm was thrown over her face to block out the light, and her eyes were closed. Was she talking to him?

"I just want my arm and my life back. Really, is that too much to ask for?"

Tim spoke. "Are you talking to me?"

Calleigh moved her arm and opened her eyes, finding Tim's dark brown ones staring at her from over the top of the couch. He looked irritated, but also a little concerned. Calleigh sat up quickly. It felt too strange, too intimate, to be lying on the couch with Tim looking down at her.

"No," she said, waving him off. "Don't pay any attention to me. Are you finished?"

Tim nodded. Calleigh stood. "I'm sorry that you have to keep tabs on me. I know that as miserable as this is for me, it has to be worse for you."

Tim had been about to walk out, but her words stopped her. He'd had very few charges that were pleasant about him monitoring them, but she was the first one to empathize with him.

He shrugged. "It's not so bad. You're pretty easy, actually."

Calleigh frowned, then laughed. "Thanks, I think."

Tim paused. He needed to get out to the car, but he was having a hard time tearing himself away from her, finding that, as usual, his capacity to remain cold and professional with Calleigh was in short supply. As the silence continued, the tension grew until Tim blurted out, "I could show you a trick with your cast, if you want."

Calleigh's eyes narrowed. "What kind of trick?"

"There is a way to take your clothes off without flying into a rage." He raised an eyebrow as he said this, and Calleigh's face colored.

"I'm fine," she insisted.

Tim shrugged. "Suit yourself, Princess. I'll see you in the morning." He let himself out then, and Calleigh stood staring at her door for several long minutes after he'd left. Tim's erratic behavior continually baffled her. Usually cold and distant, his occasional moments of concern never failed to surprise her, so much so that she always ended up rebuffing them, not trusting his intentions.

Calleigh was quieter than usual the next few evenings. Tim wondered if it was job-related, or just the stress of the situation wearing her down. God knows the sleepless nights were wearing on him.

"Tim," Calleigh said softly, just as he was about to walk out the door. "Do you think you can tell me how to do that thing you were talking about the other day?"

"Huh?" he said, then remembered. "Oh yeah, sure. But it's kind of hard to explain. I'll have to show you."

Calleigh backed away from him. "Never mind then," she said. "I'll be fine."

Tim rolled his eyes. "Relax, Princess. I'm not about to have you undress in front of me. I can show you with my shirt." Before Calleigh could change her mind, he launched into his explanation, and slowly but surely he ended up standing shirtless in her living room, his shirt grasped loosely in his right hand, having never once rotated his right shoulder.

Calleigh managed not to gawk openly at the half-dressed man in her living room, although she did sneak in a few discreet peeks. Tim slipped his shirt back on as quickly as he'd pulled it off, and only then did Calleigh dare to look at him full on.

"It'll take a few tries to get the hang of it, but you'll figure out." Calleigh nodded. "I should go," he added after a moment.

Calleigh snapped out of her semi-trance and nodded. "Right, right. Okay. Um, thanks."

"Anytime," Tim said.

Later that evening, Tim smiled as Calleigh's voice came over the line. "It worked like a charm, Tim." He then heard her crawl into bed and snuggle under the covers. In just a few moments, she was sound asleep, her breathing slow and steady.

_Secret Agent Man…_

Another week passed. Calleigh had adjusted to life with only one arm fairly well, the glaring exception being that she couldn't use her beloved firearms. The pre-trial proceedings were moving along quickly, although not quite quick enough for either Tim or Calleigh.

They were finishing up another evening sweep of her apartment when Tim's stomach growled loudly. Calleigh looked up at him and narrowed her eyes.

"Are you hungry?"

"No," he said gruffly.

"When was the last time you ate?" she asked, still doubtful.

Tim shrugged. "I don't know…yesterday morning, I think. Don't get all maternal on me."

Calleigh huffed. "Don't worry." She paused, then cocked her head at him and studied him. "You've lost weight."

"So?" Tim asked, crossing his arms across his chest and glaring back at her.

"So you were already too thin to begin with. Sit down. I'm going to fix you something to eat."

"I'm not hungry," Tim protested, even as his stomach rumbled again.

"I don't care if you're hungry or not," Calleigh said. "If you're going to protect me, how are you supposed to do that if you're not eating properly?"

A third loud rumble interrupted Tim's retort, and Calleigh's eyes flashed in triumph. Tim glared back at her, knowing that she had won the battle, and reluctantly sat down at her breakfast table. In truth, he was famished, but every morning when he handed Calleigh off to Horatio for safekeeping, he was more interested in sleeping than in eating. He usually woke up with just enough time to grab a shower before he had to pick up Calleigh, and then stubbornness prevented him from accepting her offers of food. He'd had some crackers in the car, but he'd eaten the last of those the previous morning. Tim frowned. Had it really been that long since he'd eaten?

Calleigh prepared Tim a couple of turkey and cheese sandwiches and a glass of milk and sat them before him. "Eat," she demanded.

Tim ate. Calleigh continued to bustle around the kitchen, pulling various items from her cabinets and placing them in plastic baggies.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Packing you some snacks," she said. "I don't want you to starve to death."

Tim opened his mouth to protest, and then thought better of it. He enjoyed their sparring, but he was so dead tired that he just couldn't summon up the energy to fire off a retort. After their rocky start, he and Calleigh had more or less mended their fences, coming to an uneasy truce if not a complete cease-fire, although there was still the occasional awkward moment when memories of the kiss they'd shared came to their minds simultaneously.

"Thanks," he said. Calleigh flashed him a hesitant smile, expecting a smart remark to follow, widening the smile when she realized that the thanks had been genuine.

_TBC…_


	4. One Kiss

Chapter Four: One Kiss

One evening as Tim was checking Calleigh's apartment, he said off-handedly, "I heard from the higher-ups that it shouldn't be much longer now until the case goes to trial."

"You're probably excited about that, huh?" Calleigh replied, ignoring the bands that were tightening around her chest. The man irritated her to no end, but still, she'd grown rather fond of him, a contradiction she chose not to contemplate. Either way, he was part of her routine now. Tim leaving would mean change, and Calleigh preferred to keep change to a minimum in her life. Change inevitably resulted in a lost of control for her, and _that _was something she avoided at all costs.

Tim ducked his head and smiled. In some ways, he was anxious to return to work, real work, but he was also reluctant to bid Calleigh good-bye. He'd enjoyed this assignment more than he'd thought he would, and he was a realist enough to realize that the protective instincts he felt for her went beyond professional concern. For that reason alone, it was just as well that his time with her was almost over.

"Eh," Tim shrugged. "It hasn't been so bad baby-sitting you, Princess."

Calleigh frowned at him, but the twinkle of amusement in her eyes was unmistakable.

"I better get going," Tim said after a moment. He had already turned away towards the door when Calleigh called after him.

"Tim, wait."

He spun around, surprised to see her right behind him. "What?"

"You forgot your supper," she said, handing him two neatly wrapped sandwiches. The feel of her fingers casually brushing across the back of his hand sent pleasurable shocks of electricity coursing through his body, and he took two steps backwards, needing more space between them than her apartment offered.

"I've told you that feeding me isn't your job," he reminded her, his hand twisting on the doorknob behind him.

"Eh," Calleigh shrugged. "It hasn't been so bad feeding you, smarty pants."

He glared at her until her lips began to twitch with a smile. Knowing that she was a goner, Calleigh laughed, giving her whole self into the laugh. Tim felt the one-sided tension that had been building between them fade. "Sorry," she said, "I just couldn't resist."

Tim removed his hand from the doorknob and took a step closer to her. He could smell her perfume, could feel the heat coming off her body. He was playing with fire, but he wasn't ready to let her off the hook just yet. "So you think I have a smart mouth, Princess? You're one to talk."

"I guess it takes one to know one," Calleigh countered, unnerved by Tim's nearness but refusing to step back. This was uncharted territory. They exchanged barbs on a daily basis, but always at a safe distance. Having Tim this close to her brought back memories that she would prefer to keep buried.

"At least you're finally admitting that you're insufferably sassy," Tim countered.

"And you love it," Calleigh said, before she could stop herself. Tim paused, momentarily speechless.

"I do," he said finally, his voice low and gravelly. "God knows why, but I do." They continued to stare at each other, both feeling as though something was about to happen, and yet neither willing to actively bring it in to being.

It was Tim who broke the silence. "I really want to kiss you," he said, his voice rough with an emotion that Calleigh chose not to ponder.

"That would be nice," she whispered back, somewhat breathless as she felt Tim's arm snake around her waist to pull her against him.

"Would it?" he asked, his breath hot and moist on her mouth, his own lips mere inches from hers.

She nodded, and Tim lowered his head then, covering her mouth with his. Calleigh's mind went deliciously blank as she focused on nothing other than the pleasant sensation of Tim's lips on her. She barely noticed when Tim's other hand came up to cradle the back of her head and pull her deeper into the kiss, or how her one good hand moved to the small of Tim's back, exerting a gentle but insistent pressure that kept him from backing off.

Tim's mind, on the other hand, was racing, knowing that what they were doing – what he had instigated – was not a good idea. At the moment however, it was near impossible to remember that he was an FBI agent and that Calleigh was a witness for his case, because all that he was feeling was the age-old attraction of a man to a woman. As Calleigh's hand pressed into his back, her fingers moving in small, languid circles and the pressure from them keeping his body pressed firmly into her, his mind finally stilled.

It was Calleigh who broke the kiss, Calleigh whose mind returned to her first, Calleigh whose logic insisting on poking through the pleasant haze that the kiss had created and spoiling the moment. Calleigh pulled away, placing her hand on Tim's chest when he moved forward in attempt to capture her lips once more.

"We shouldn't be doing this," she said, her voice surprisingly strong. Tim stepped back, reality crashing down around him.

"You're right," he said, backing up until once more his back was against her front door. "I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me. It won't happen again."

"It's okay," Calleigh said quickly. "It was fine…. I mean, it was more than fine actually, it was quite nice…. but…." she trailed off, words failing her.

"But I'm going to disappear into the wind as soon as this is over and there's no way this can be anything more than…" Calleigh nodded, and Tim cut himself off. He didn't want to say what it could only be, because he didn't want to think of Calleigh that way. But she was right. He and she led very separate lives; lives that had only intersected because of a very temporary situation and that would soon diverge once more.

"I better go," he said, nearly choking on the words. Calleigh nodded, and Tim disappeared through the door before either of them could think to change their minds.

Calleigh winced as the door slammed shut, then rubbed at her lips. "Stupid, stupid," she muttered to herself. It wouldn't be so bad, she thought, if it hadn't felt so right. Still, she knew that all she could ever be for Tim was a very brief dalliance, a quick roll in the hay before circumstances forced them apart. It wasn't worth it, she told herself, not believing it for one minute.

_Secret Agent Man…_

The morning drive in was silent, the car brimming with tension and anxiety. Tim barely slept that day, so much was he dreading the evening's encounter with Calleigh. There was no way that he could avoid going up into her apartment, and it was going to be awkward and stilted, requiring far more social grace than he could summon up.

The day sped along at a seemingly accelerated rate, so much so that Tim felt like only mere minutes had passed before he was in Calleigh's apartment again. She'd smiled awkwardly at him, but they hadn't spoken.

"You're all set," he said as soon as he was finished, already moving towards the door.

"Tim." Her voice stopped him, and he gritted his teeth together before answering. He was not going to turn around, was not going to put himself in the same situation last night, even as his body begged him to do otherwise.

"What?" he growled, the irritation in his voice clear.

Calleigh frowned at his back. She could understand him not wanting to turn around, but his rejection still stung. "Don't you want your supper?"

"I'm fine," he growled, and then he was moving, opening the door and sailing through it before Calleigh could speak again.

His stubbornness came back to haunt him a few hours later when his stomach growled loudly. He rooted through his glove compartment half-heartedly. He'd come to rely on Calleigh's sandwiches, and had long since stopped stuffing his car with supplies. Tim slammed the compartment door shut and leaned back in his seat. He'd suffer in silence before he'd go back begging to her.

Tim looked up and glowered at Calleigh's bedroom window. To his surprise, the light was on. He frowned. He'd been certain that it had been off earlier. He watched as the unmistakable form of Calleigh's silhouette passed in front of the window, although he couldn't hear her feet treading on the thick carpet.

He heard Calleigh's bathroom door open, its squeaking hinges protesting. Just before he heard the door slam shut, he thought he heard water running. And then it was silent again.

Tim watched Calleigh's bedroom window with interest. He could picture her bedroom easily enough; after all, he had been in it every night for the past month. It was completely and utterly feminine, something that surprised him and yet seemed completely in line with what he knew about Calleigh. She was as tough as nails, but there was no forgetting that she was one hundred percent female.

There was no evidence that any man had shared her bed recently – no stray hotrod magazines on the bedside table, no men's oxford shirts hanging in the closet, no dresser drawer discretely filled with men's undershirts and boxer shorts. Her bathroom was equally given over wholly to female interests – her toothbrush, pink and white, stood alone and proud in the toothbrush holder. There was no stick of men's deodorant in her medicine cabinet and no second razor in her shower.

He'd taken in all these details the first time he'd swept her apartment to bug it with audio. Although she'd told him the day that she'd broken her arm that there was no boyfriend or husband, Tim had felt certain that her apartment would reveal otherwise. Calleigh was far too appealing of a package to be without near-constant male companionship. The overwhelming evidence that she was, in fact, either honestly single or only casually dating had surprised him, although it did make his job easier to not have to juggle a boyfriend traipsing in and out of the apartment.

At the same time, this awareness saddened him. Calleigh was a beautiful woman, and delightful to be with – so long as things were going her way. Surely she was deserving of someone to love, and someone to love in return? Tim knew, with absolute certainty and complete conviction, that if his circumstances had been any different, that he would have fought for her affections – and that he wouldn't have given up until he'd won them.

He frowned at the twist of irony that had brought her into his life. He'd had only two relationships in his life that could be considered serious, and by serious he meant that both he and said females had expressed some interest in spending time together outside of the bedsheets. Neither relationship had lasted very long for that very reason – outside of sex, he and the women had mutually agreed that they didn't have very much in common. It wasn't that he slept around; for the most part, he kept his own company, and the few sexual encounters he had with women were far and few between, and had been even more so since he'd gone UC. But there was something about Calleigh, something that he couldn't put his finger on, that attracted him, something that brought out the need (unfamiliar with it though he was) to be with her, to stand by her side and love her, to support her, cherish her and keep her close to him, to lay down his life if necessary to keep her safe. There was also the desire to strip her clothes off and take her to bed, but that was to be expected. It was the fact that he could actually see himself doing these things that surprised him. He'd never had any craving for an average Joe family life, but he could picture living such a life with Calleigh, and could believe that such a plain vanilla life might actually bring him a sense of contentment that he'd never before felt.

But that life was never going to happen with Calleigh, and he could only be thankful that she had had the foresight to see that before they'd ended up in her bed together. He wouldn't have resisted the experience, but he would have regretted afterwards that it was all he'd had to give to her.

Tim was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of Calleigh's bathroom door opening. Just as silently, she padded back into the bedroom, this time clad in a bathrobe, and he was treated to the sight of her silhouette once more. Her hair was twisted up in a towel on her head (the mechanics of this female-only behavior both baffled and amazed Tim). She stopped directly in front of the window, either unaware or uncaring that Tim was watching below, and unwrapped her hair, shaking out the long blond locks as they cascaded down her back. Tim watched, fascinated, as Calleigh towel-dried her hair briefly before running her fingers through it one last time. When she reached for the belt of her bathrobe Tim groaned and sank down in his seat. She was deliberately trying to undo him, he just knew it. Apparently, however, Calleigh thought better of what she was about to do, perhaps realizing that her curtains didn't completely shield her, and she stepped away from the window. The room darkened a moment later. Tim sank further into his seat and closed his eyes, relieved and frustrated that she had moved from his line of sight. He already had enough impulses about undressing her, and he certainly didn't need any visual aids.

Calleigh's bedroom remained dark and quiet the rest of the night, but Tim's mind was anything but quiet. He should have never kissed her in the first place. What had gotten in to him? After the last disaster, he'd sworn off relationships, a promise he'd had no trouble keeping until Calleigh appeared in his life. He'd only survived their encounter that evening by acting surly and keeping his distance, a behavior he couldn't keep up indefinitely. Something was going to have to give...

TBC…


	5. No Strings

Chapter Five: No Strings

After a second morning of a silent and tension filled ride in, Tim went out of his way to effect a pleasant manner that evening. Calleigh was silent and withdrawn, and retreated immediately into her bedroom and locked the door once Tim had cleared it. Tim finished checking the apartment, and when Calleigh failed to reappear, he rapped gently on the door.

"I'm all done," he called. He was met with silence.

"Calleigh?" he said again when it was obvious that she wasn't going to answer him. "Did you hear me?"

"Yes, I heard you," was the sharp reply he received.

Tim stared at the door. Surely she wasn't angry with him about the previous night, or the night before that? After all, she had been the one to push away from him, and he'd only been curt with her because he didn't trust himself not to kiss her again. He had agreed with her assessment of the situation. So why was she acting this way?

Tim shook his head and backed away. There were a million reasons that might explain her behavior, and although he'd never professed to understand women, he knew enough to know that sometimes there was no answer for a woman's moodiness other than "because." If he had any sense, he would get the hell out of her apartment before she focused her foul mood on him.

"I'm going then," he said, and turned away.

"Tim?" He heard her calling him and turned around. The door was still closed, but he resumed his place just on the other side of it.

"I'm right here," he said.

"Your sandwiches are in the fridge if you want them."

It wasn't what he'd been expecting. "Oh… okay, thanks." He turned and headed towards the refrigerator for the sandwiches. Hungry or not, he wouldn't dare turn down her offerings tonight. And although he doubted that his rejection of food the night before had anything to do with her bad mood, he wasn't about to contribute to it.

Either he was too busy wondering about Calleigh's behavior, or perhaps he'd simply grown too accustomed to her apartment, but either way he missed her opening the bedroom door and sneaking up behind him in the kitchen. Her presence went entirely unnoticed by him until he backed out of the refrigerator and straight into her. Startled, he spun around and met her gaze, which was far too beguiling for his liking.

"Sorry," he said, stepping away from her. "I didn't hear you."

"What kind of undercover agent are you?" she asked, her tone slightly teasing and provocative.

Tim smiled awkwardly and continued to back away. "One who needs to get back to his car." He went to take another step backwards, but Calleigh reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Don't," she said, advancing on him. In an intricate sequence of maneuvering steps, she had him backed against the refrigerator, his body sandwiched between it and her.

"Calleigh," Tim said, realizing an instant too late what she was doing. "I thought we decided that this wasn't a good idea."

"We did," she said, refusing to back off.

"So why are you…?" his voice trailed off. He didn't want to presume what she was after, although it was fairly obvious. Her behavior had his head reeling.

"Because we agreed that it was a bad idea because nothing could come of it. But if we could also agree that we were going into this knowing that nothing could come of it, then there wouldn't be anything wrong with it."

Tim could only gape at her. Her logic (if that was what it could be called) made absolutely no sense. She'd turned him down – and rightly so – two evenings previous because they could only offer each other a roll in the proverbial hay. And while Tim wouldn't have minded taking Calleigh to bed, he was well aware that doing so would only add more fuel to the raging fire that was his feelings towards her. And those kind of feelings could only lead to trouble for both of them.

"So you stopped me the other night because we knew that nothing could come of this, and now you're saying that because we know nothing can come of this that it's all right? You do realize that makes absolutely no sense, don't you?"

Calleigh laughed softly and cupped his face in her hand. "It's all about making sure that everyone's clear about where this is – or isn't – going. We know it's not going anywhere, so as long as you're okay with it and I'm okay with it, then it's okay."

She leaned in and kissed him softly, arching her body against his in a silent invitation. Tim knew that she was his for the taking, but he found that the longer he considered her proposition, the less he liked it. She was asking for the one thing he could give her – casual sex with no strings attached – yet it was the one thing he didn't want to give her. He was already too deep in as far as his feelings for Calleigh were concerned, and sleeping with her would only intensify those feelings. And if those feelings that he could barely contain now were given free rein, he was liable to do something really dumb, like quit his job and ask her to marry him.

Tim was so lost in his thoughts that he failed to notice Calleigh's wandering hands. It wasn't until he felt her slip her hands into his belt loops and slide one finger under the waistband of his jeans that he realized what she was doing. Tim regretfully broke off the kiss and shook his head.

"No it's not okay, Calleigh. I'd like nothing better than to take you up on your offer, but it's just not in either one of our best interests." He reached down and took her hands in his, pulling them back up towards his chest.

Calleigh frowned, and Tim knew that she was gearing herself up for an argument. He beat her to it by speaking first.

"I'm sure we'd have a great time," he said, feeling the urge to kiss away the frown between her brows and only barely managing to refrain from doing so. "But you deserve better than what I can give you, and because I care about you I'm not going to do this to you. Someone's going to get hurt – you, me, possibly both of us. They call it "no-strings-attached" sex, but I've yet to see an instance where strings don't start forming pretty rapidly. You're an incredible woman, Calleigh, and you don't want to get yourself messed up in me."

"How can you possibly know what I want or deserve?" she asked. "You don't even know me."

"Exactly," Tim pointed out. "I don't know you, which is enough of a reason for us to not get involved. But…." He paused, knowing that his next words would push her out of his arms for good. "But I've been in this situation before, and it never ends well."

Calleigh's face registered surprise and she backed away from him. "You've done this before?" she asked, crossing her arms in a defensive stance that Tim knew only too well.

Tim nodded, his face burning with shame. "Yes, I have. It's not one of my prouder moments, but in the past I have gotten involved with women who were under protective custody. Someone always gets hurt. _Always_. And I'm not going to do that to you."

"Because you care about me, right?" she asked, and Tim nodded, embarrassed. He hadn't meant for that bit to slip out, but it had.

She moved sideways and blocked his escape route before he could even think to move that way. "Did you care about those other girls?" she asked.

Tim shook his head. "No, I didn't. They were just…there…and so was I, and for them, the novelty of sleeping with an undercover agent was too enticing. It was fun, for awhile, until they realized that I wasn't just playing at being a UC and that I wasn't going to give up my career for them."

"But you didn't care about them?"

Tim felt his heart begin to ache. Why was she asking him the same question? Was she just trying to see how heartless he really was?

"It's not as black and white as you're making it out to be, but the short answer is that no, I didn't care about them, at least not the way I care for you." He was humiliated, but if it kept her from dragging him to her bed, then it was worth it. He only hoped that she got the idea soon, because the longer they continued to talk about sex, the more his resolve weakened.

"So you only sleep with people you don't care about? Who's not making any sense now?"

"Calleigh -"

"And when you say someone always gets hurt, you're referring to the girl, right? Because you don't sound like someone who's had his heart broken."

Tim sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. What had happened before wasn't as thoughtless as she was portraying it, and he hated that that was the impression she was taking away from his disclosure. On the other hand, giving her a slightly modified version of the truth would probably quench any desire on her part for them to hit the sheets. And right then, that was what Tim needed more than anything. His feelings for Calleigh had long since passed professional, and he was pretty sure that his willpower, which had so inconveniently demanded to be addressed a few minutes previous, would gladly beat a hasty retreat if Calleigh continued her assault.

He spoke. "Yes. Like I said earlier, I'm not about to quit my job and derail my career for some woman."

Calleigh's eyes narrowed, and Tim knew that he had gone too far. "You know what I mean, Princess. What if you met some guy and he wanted you to quit your job?"

"I'd tell him to hit the road," she said, without a moment's hesitation.

"Exactly."

She continued to stare at him, her eyes squinted and her head cocked as if she were trying to make up her mind about him. "Okay," she said finally. She stepped away from him, and Tim practically ran for the front door. He would have walked out without saying another word to her, but something stopped him. Later, he reasoned that it was that same something that made him want something more than just sex from Calleigh. But whatever it was, that something made him stop and turn around to face her one last time.

"When this is all over and I'm out of your hair, you'll realize that I was right about us, Princess."

She gave him a funny smile, as if she didn't quite believe him, but nodded. Tim sighed with relief and slipped out the door. This case couldn't end soon enough.

_TBC…_


	6. Princess without a Prince

Chapter Six: A Princess without a Prince

Calleigh seemed to take Tim's argument to heart, because she worked as hard as him to maintain a strictly professional, slightly standoffish relationship for the next few weeks. Tim's heart ached every time she gave him the cold shoulder, but he knew that they'd made the right the decision, even if it didn't feel like it.

He thought that they would have made it through the trial too, with no more run-ins, had Calleigh not asked him to accompany her to the doctor to have her cast removed.

It was early one morning, and Tim watched as Calleigh sauntered out of her apartment, noticing that her hips were swaying back and forth a little more than usual. Her face was determined, and Tim had a sinking feeling that she was going to need a favor. The last time he'd seen her saunter like that had been the day she'd asked him to take her to the mall.

"What do you need from me?" he growled when she opened the door.

"Good morning to you too, sunshine," she said, her voice high and cheerful. "Listen, I know you want to just dump me at PD and get some sleep, but I'm getting my cast off today. I asked Horatio yesterday if he would go with me, but he's going to be tied up in court all day, and I can't wait one more minute to get this thing off. Will you go with me instead?"

She caught Tim rolling his eyes before he could stop himself. "My appointment is at 9:30. You'll be home and in bed by 11, I promise." She smiled brightly at Tim, whose frown only deepened. "Please?"

"Fine," he snarled. "But we're taking your car."

She smiled at him. "You're the best."

Tim grumbled and got out of his car, scuffling along behind Calleigh. "Have you gotten your court date yet?" he asked, once he was settled into the driver's seat.

"Next Thursday," she said. Tim moved the seat back to accommodate his longer legs and closed his eyes briefly. Next Thursday. Today was Friday. Less than one week to go. He could make it…maybe.

Calleigh tried to leave Tim in the car once they reached the doctor's office, but he refused. "I have no way of monitoring you once you go inside," he said. "And there's way too many entrances into this office. I'm going with you."

Calleigh sighed, but allowed him to follow her. There was a brief skirmish at the nurses' station when the nurse didn't want to allow Tim to follow Calleigh in, but Tim gripped Calleigh's hand tightly and smiled sweetly at the nurse. "She's my fiancée," he told the nurse, managing not to laugh when he felt Calleigh twitch with surprise. "I was out of town when she broke her arm. Damn near scared me to death when I got her phone call. I haven't let her out of my sight since."

The nurse frowned at Tim, as if not quite believing his story, but Calleigh quickly recovered and patted Tim's arm lovingly, all the while smiling at the nurse. "He's been a real pest," she agreed. "But he's only being so overbearing because he _cares_, isn't that right, sweetie?" She turned her smile on Tim.

Tim frowned. "That's right, dear," he said, squeezing her hand just a bit tighter in hopes that she would cut it out. He didn't need her help convincing the nurse to let him join her, and if she thought that there was anything even remotely amusing about pretending to be engaged to each other, she was sorely mistaken.

Apparently Calleigh did find the charade amusing, because she leaned over and kissed Tim on the cheek. "I'm so lucky to have found such a great guy," she told the nurse. "He would never do anything to hurt me." She met his eyes as she said this, and they sparkled as if daring him to make good on her statement.

The nurse frowned at both of them then, but sighed and mumbled, "Follow me."

Tim glared at Calleigh once the nurse had turned away. "You're a real pain in the ass, you know, Princess?"

Calleigh's smile remained as sweet as it had been. "What?" she asked innocently. "I'm only repeating what you told me, aren't I?"

Tim wasn't interested in revisiting _that_ particular conversation, so he nudged her instead and said, "We're going to lose her if you don't start walking, Princess." Calleigh giggled but moved forward, all the while keeping Tim's hand firmly in her own.

They sat through the entire exam and cast removal with their hands clasped and fingers intertwined. Every time Tim tried to pull his hand away, Calleigh gripped it so tightly that at one point he was certain it would break and _he_ would end up in a cast. Finally Tim gave up and began plotting his revenge. She was going to pay for this little stunt.

Calleigh grimaced and buried her head in Tim's shoulder when the cast was peeled away to reveal her pale, thin arm. Tim swallowed a witty retort, figuring that a loving fiancé wouldn't poke fun at her situation, and instead using the opportunity to run his fingers through her hair instead.

"You've healed marvelously," the doctor told Calleigh. "You'll need to start PT on Monday, but I'll give you the weekend off to get used to being two-handed again."

The doctor looked at Tim. "Don't let her put too much weight on it, okay? You're still going to need to wait on her a little bit more."

Tim nodded at the doctor. "Don't worry," he said. "I'm not going to let her out of my sight." He leaned over and kissed Calleigh on the cheek, grinning when he felt her shiver, and ignoring the way his own heart began to thump furiously in his chest. "I'm sure we can figure out something to do that will keep you from straining your arm too much, dear," he said loudly, and Calleigh blushed.

Calleigh glared at Tim, gave her thanks to the doctor, and drug Tim out of the office. Once they were securely in the car, she turned on him, her eyes flaring with anger.

"What the hell, Tim?"

"You started it," he reminded her.

"It was your idea to act engaged in the first place."

"Maybe so, but I didn't need your help. All I was trying to do was get past the nurse. And I certainly didn't need you using my own words against me. That was a low blow, Princess."

Calleigh huffed and looked out the window.

The rest of the drive home was quiet, and Tim yawned as they pulled into Calleigh's apartment complex. "The doctor said I can't go back to work until Monday," Calleigh said. "I know you're tired, but since you have to watch me, why don't you come upstairs and sleep on my couch? That way you can keep your eye on me. It's too hot to even think about spending the day in your car."

Tim didn't argue with Calleigh. He was tired, and she was right, it was too hot to spend the day in his car. He followed Calleigh up to her apartment and collapsed on her couch. "Wake me up if you need anything, okay?"

"Okay," Calleigh said, leaning over the back of the couch to throw a blanket over him. "Sweet dreams."

Tim's eyes were already shut. Calleigh smiled at him and headed for her bathroom. She wanted to scrub down her arm, and then take a nice long bubble bath, something she hadn't been able to do since breaking her arm.

An hour and a half later, Calleigh emerged from the bathroom, feeling refreshed and better than she had since the afternoon she'd broken her arm. She tiptoed into the living room and peaked in on Tim. He was still asleep, his arm slung across his face to block the sunlight. Calleigh walked over to the window and closed the shades. Tim stirred in his sleep but didn't awaken.

Calleigh walked back over to Tim and looked at him again. It really was a shame he'd decided to develop a conscience with her, she thought. He was attractive, and the few kisses they'd shared had been more than enough to set every nerve in her body on fire. If he could make her feel that good with just a kiss, Calleigh could only imagine what it would feel like if he had access to her entire body. She shivered involuntarily at the thought, and pulled her robe around her tighter.

Despite her obvious physical attraction to him, Calleigh couldn't help but wonder about the past liaisons that he'd mentioned. Had it been the way things had been with them? Had he come on to these women, or had they come onto him? How many women had there been? And why did she care so much?

Calleigh grudgingly admitted to herself that what she felt for Tim was more than just a physical attraction. If it had been only that, then she would have had no trouble keeping her hands to herself. But Calleigh knew that her feelings for Tim ran deeper, although she steadfastly refused to examine just how deep that was. Best to tell herself that it was a purely physical attraction, and let Tim think that as well. He said he cared for her, but she had no idea what that meant. Probably it just meant that he didn't find her completely annoying, or that he was honestly concerned with her well-being. Calleigh cared for a lot of people, but that didn't mean that she loved them, or even necessarily liked them that much. Care could mean a lot of things, and just because Tim had said that he cared didn't mean that he wouldn't leave. And even though she'd told him differently the other night, Calleigh knew that she wouldn't be able to let him in her bed and then let him go. And he'd explicitly told her that _that_ was exactly what would happen.

Tim stirred again, and Calleigh backed away, not wanting him to wake and catch her staring at him. She was too slow though, and Tim opened his eyes to find Calleigh still standing over him.

"What?" he asked, his voice thick with sleep.

"Nothing," she said. "I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"I was doing fine until you started staring at me and woke me up," he grumbled.

"There's no way I woke you up by staring at you," Calleigh argued back.

"Yes, you did, Princess," Tim argued. His eyes drifted down to her arm. "How's the arm?"

Calleigh looked down at her arm, then back at Tim. "Okay, I guess. It feels weird, you know?"

"You'll get used to it," he said. Calleigh rolled her eyes at him.

"I imagine I will," she replied dryly.

"Don't forget to keep your weight off it," he added, smirking at her.

Calleigh smirked back. "I thought you said that you would take care of that," she fired back.

"Don't taunt me, Princess," he warned her.

Calleigh crossed her arms. "What are you going to do about it?" she dared him.

The words were no sooner out of her mouth than Tim quickly sat up and grabbed Calleigh around the waist, pulling her over the back off the couch and on top of him, taking care to keep from jarring her arm. He sank back down onto the couch, pulling Calleigh against him. "It'll probably be better for your arm if you're on top," he teased.

He knew he was playing with fire, dancing on hot coals, but he was beyond caring. Seeing Calleigh standing above him, wrapped in a terry cloth robe with her hair still damp and curling slightly and looking good enough to eat, had completely done him in. Damn the consequences, he thought as he wrapped his arms around her slender waist and began to run his hands up and down her back. He'd been fighting a losing battle ever since the moment he'd scooped her up into his arms that first day on the freeway, and he was past ready to surrender.

Calleigh smacked him lightly. "You wish!" she exclaimed.

"No, I believe you wish," he reminded her, and Calleigh squirmed half-heartedly, pretending to try and get away from him. Tim suppressed a groan of frustration. He'd gotten himself into this situation, but she was going to kill him if she kept writhing against him like this.

"Do you treat all your protective custody charges like this?" she teased.

Tim's smile abruptly faded, and his grip on Calleigh loosened. "I'm sorry," he said, pulling his hands off her. As reality set back in, he berated himself for letting his emotions spill over until he lost complete control of himself.

"Tim," Calleigh said, "Don't get mad."

"I'm not mad," he said, trying to sit up. This time it was Calleigh who wrapped her arms around his waist, refusing to allow him to sit up. She was so close to getting what she wanted, and she wasn't about to let him slip away from her again. Maybe he cared, or maybe he didn't, but either way, she needed to feel his lips on her again. She wanted to feel his hands run all over her body, wanted to let him unwrap the robe she'd caught him eying hungrily earlier. Whether he cared or not, Calleigh did, and for now, that was good enough.

"Yes you are."

"No, I'm not," he insisted.

"You're right," she agreed. "You're not mad. You're just petulant."

Tim renewed his fight to get out from under Calleigh, but she was surprisingly strong, and if he was completely honest, he wanted to stay right where he was. But his mind, which hadn't yet completely shut down, was persistently reminding him just how bad of an idea this was.

"Calleigh," he said, and this time the pleading was evident in his voice. "Please."

Calleigh ignored Tim's plea, choosing instead to press herself flat against his body, so that as much of her body as possible was in contact with his. "What's so wrong with me, Tim?" she asked him, her face just inches from his. "What did those other girls have that I don't?"

"Nothing," Tim answered honestly. It was what he didn't have, what he couldn't give her, _what he felt for her_, that was the problem. The fact that he was also the FBI agent assigned to her case didn't help matters.

"Then why won't you sleep with me?"

Tim's eyes widened at Calleigh's directness, and he marveled at the trap she had so easily snared him in. His features softened, and he reached up to stroke her cheek. "Because you're my Princess," he said softly. It was the only answer he could give her.

"I'm not much of a Princess without a Prince," Calleigh remarked.

Tim scoffed. "I'm no Prince, Calleigh."

"Isn't that for me to decide?"

Tim groaned. "You have horrible taste in men, Princess."

Calleigh lowered her mouth to Tim's, and he closed his eyes in surrender. Come what may, he could deny Calleigh Duquesne no longer.

"Actually," she breathed against his lips, "I think you taste quite nice."

_TBC…_


	7. Invasion

Chapter Seven: Invasion

It was the night before Calleigh's court appearance, and both she and Tim were trying to forget that after tomorrow Tim would be gone, off on another assignment, and Calleigh would be back at the crime lab, trying to regain strength and muscle tone in her firing arm, and their five days of stolen pleasure would be a memory only.

They were curled up in bed together, basking in the satisfactory aftermath of their lovemaking. Calleigh was curled up against Tim's right side, tucked in the crook of his arm with her head resting on his chest. The sheets were in a tangle around their waists, and a few beads of sweat still stuck to Tim's forehead.

Calleigh shivered, and Tim craned his neck forward to kiss her on the head. "Are you cold?" he asked, reaching down to pull the covers up to Calleigh's chin.

"Mm-mm," Calleigh said, shaking her head and snuggling up closer to him. "I'm fine."

"Are you all set for tomorrow?" he asked. "You went over everything with the DA?"

"I don't want to talk about tomorrow," she grumbled.

"It's going to be here before you know it," he told her.

"I know how time works," she snapped, pulling away and rolling onto her side.

Tim suppressed a sigh. "Calleigh –" He reached for her.

"Don't, Tim," she said, flinching away from his touch. "Just don't, okay? You were right. Are you happy now?"

"Calleigh." Tim's heart ached. He was right, but he didn't want to be. It had been five days since he'd given into Calleigh, and during that time he'd fallen in love with her. He had pushed her away for so long, thinking that it was her who would get hurt, never imagining that the feelings he'd had for her were only the tip of an iceberg. She might think she was upset, but she had no idea how badly he was hurting. Calleigh would likely survive their affair with no permanent scars, but he doubted that he would recover as easily, if at all. He'd known that it was a bad idea to get involved with her, but he'd been grossly wrong about the reason why. Calleigh had effortlessly stolen his heart, but he would be forced to break it. The only way he could prevent that was to….

"Let's deal with tomorrow tomorrow," he said suddenly, rolling Calleigh back over and pulling her stiff body to him. "Okay?" What he didn't add was that by tomorrow he was going to come up with a plan to stay with Calleigh. He would be fighting against impossible odds, but he was determined to beat them. He simply loved her too much to let her go. His love for her, however, was a conversation that he was more than willing to put off until a later time. There was no sense in opening that bag of worms that evening.

"Okay," Calleigh said hesitantly, relaxing slowly.

Tim pulled Calleigh on top of him, and smiled brightly for her, looking far more confident than he felt. "Now, I think we have just enough time left before I have to put you to bed."

Calleigh laughed and kissed Tim soundly. "You've already put me to bed," she pointed out. "In fact, I've been hard pressed to get you to let me _out _of bed these last few days."

"The doctor said that you needed your rest," he teased.

"Resting is not exactly what I've been doing in this bed," she said, sticking one finger into his chest. "Especially not since you joined me."

"I could leave if you want me to," Tim said, before realizing what he was saying. He froze, and Calleigh stiffened.

"I'm sorry," Tim added quickly, "I didn't mean it like that."

Calleigh shook her head. "I know you didn't," she said. "Look, no more talking, okay? All that seems to be doing tonight is getting us into trouble."

"No more talking," Tim agreed, and then he pulled Calleigh down to him, and lost himself in her kiss.

_Secret Agent Man…_

It was several hours later when Calleigh's eyes fluttered open. In the darkness of the night, she couldn't see a thing. The fog slowly drifted from her mind, and she remembered what had happened earlier that evening…she and Tim had made love – twice – and then they'd drifted off to sleep, exhausted. And then…then she'd heard something, a noise in the front room. That was what had woken her. Calleigh blinked her eyes, the various shapes in the room coming into focus. Perhaps it had just been the building settling. That had to be it, she thought, snuggling back down under the covers. Tim was still asleep, his body hot to the touch. Calleigh threw her arm over his waist and was about to drift off to sleep when she heard the noise again.

She was wide awake then, sitting up in bed and reaching for the gun she kept in her bedside table drawer. Something, and more likely, someone was in her front room. And because her appearance in court was that day, she had a good idea of who that someone was.

Fear soared through her before she could quench it. Despite the heavy security surrounding the case, she had never imagined that there was any genuine threat to her safety.

Calleigh pulled her gun to her and sat it in her lap. She reached under the comforter, looking for the clothes that Tim had stripped off her earlier. She found a t-shirt, most likely Tim's, and slipped it over her head. "Tim," she whispered, shaking his shoulder. "Tim, wake up."

"What?" Tim mumbled, trying to pull her back down into bed.

"There's someone in the apartment."

Tim sat up, instantly awake. "Are you sure?" he whispered, although he was already reaching for his own gun.

Calleigh nodded. "Yes. How do you want to handle this?"

Tim slipped out of bed. "I'm going to investigate," he said, pulling on his blue jeans. "You stay here."

"No way," Calleigh argued, sliding out of bed. "I'm not staying in here."

"You're staying put, Princess," Tim growled. "Damnit," he snarled, talking more to himself then. "This would have never happened if I'd stayed in my car where I belonged."

"Tim-"

"Shh," he said, waving her away. And then he was opening her bedroom door, twisting the handle slowly so that it made no sound. He cracked the door open just enough to slip through it, and then he was gone.

Calleigh sighed, took a deep breath, and followed behind him. She wasn't staying put, not when there was someone in her living room. Her anger flared, displacing the fear from earlier. Whoever it was, they had a lot of nerve breaking into _her_ apartment. She was still planning her next move when she heard a yelp, and then the unmistakable sound of something solid crunching against a human skull.

Calleigh shot around the corner, her gun aimed and cocked. "Drop your weapon," she cried out. In the dark she could just make out two shadowy figures in her living room, and a third one lying on the floor.

"Tim?" she called out. The body on the floor groaned.

"Tim!" She focused her gaze on the two standing figures. "You bastards," she hissed.

A gun fired, and Calleigh felt the air shift as the bullet breezed past her ear. Without thinking, she fired off two quick shots, biting back a yell as the recoil rocked her still tender arm. The two figures grunted, fell, and were still.

Calleigh ran forward and flicked on the lights. The two intruders were clearly dead, each with a large pool of dark crimson blood spreading out from the bullet hole in their chests. Calleigh kicked away their guns and checked for pulses. Satisfied that they were indeed dead, she turned her attention to Tim, who was lying very still.

"Tim?" she said. "Tim?" Her voice cracked. "Are you okay?"

Tim's eyes were squeezed shut, and a sizable goose egg was quickly forming on his forehead. A trickle of blood flowed from one side of his mouth, and as she looked closer, Calleigh realized that one of Tim's eyes was actually black, bruised and swollen shut. His chest rose slowly and fell, then remained still for a long time before rising once more.

Tim opened his one good eye and focused it on Calleigh. "I'm fine," he said, dissolving into a fit of coughs. "What about you?"

"Never been better," Calleigh said. "My aim is still deadly accurate."

Tim laughed before closing his eye again. "That's my girl," he mumbled.

"We need to call the cops," Calleigh said, standing up and grabbing the cordless phone. She had already dialed 911 when Tim grabbed the phone from her hand.

"You need to get changed," he said. "And I need to get dressed. It's not going to do either of us any good to be found like this."

"Tim, you need medical attention. As for the rest…"

"Please, Calleigh," Tim begged. "Just help me get dressed first, and make sure you put on your own clothes." He opened his eye again. "Although you do look pretty hot in my t-shirt."

Calleigh paused. Her hand moved forward, seemingly of its own accord, and caressed Tim's face. "I love you," she said, not entirely sure where the sentiment had come from but meaning it nonetheless.

"I love you too, Princess," Tim said, amazed at the ease with which the foreign words flowed from his lips. "Now please, go change."

Calleigh smiled, and wiped away a few tears that had formed in her eyes. She leaned forward and kissed him gently, knowing instinctively that she was the only girl he'd ever said those words to. And if she was the only one he'd ever loved, then she was different from those other girls. And by being different, by being special, maybe she could finally be the one who could convince Tim to stay. Because that's what she wanted, she realized. She wanted him to stay.

"I'll be right back," she promised him, standing and heading for her bedroom. She quickly threw on the first clothes she could find, and then grabbed Tim's. By the time she had returned to the living room, he was sitting up, holding his head and wincing. He reached for his clothes, but Calleigh held them just out of reach.

"You can have these back when you call 911," she told him.

Tim groaned, but handed Calleigh the phone. She took it from him and handed him his clothes. Once she had placed the call, Calleigh put the phone down and sat down on the floor next to Tim. He was having trouble with his shirt.

"There's a trick to it," Calleigh teased, and Tim smiled. She helped him slide his shirt on, wincing with him when it slid over the bump on his head.

"I'm better at taking shirts off," Tim said as Calleigh finished.

"I know," Calleigh said, smiling at the memory.

They sat in silence, staring at the two dead bodies. It wasn't until they heard the sirens wailing in the distance that Calleigh spoke.

"It's a little surreal, don't you think?" she said. "I've seen plenty of dead bodies, been to dozens of crime scenes, but…this just seems so much different."

Tim nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry," he told her.

"Why?" Calleigh asked. "They knocked you out. You couldn't help that."

"No," Tim said. "I'm sorry that it had to come to this, that I put you in danger. They never would have made it this far if I had been where I was supposed to be."

"Tim, what are you talking about? You were right there in bed with me. I couldn't have been in safer hands."

"No," he repeated emphatically. "I shouldn't have been in your bed, asleep. I should have been downstairs in my car, awake and protecting you like I promised to. It's my fault. All of this is."

"Don't you dare blame yourself, Tim," Calleigh said. "You _did _protect me."

"No I didn't," he insisted, turning away from her as the guilt flowed through him. She could have been killed, he thought, just like…Tim shook away the thoughts. That had been a long time ago, and what was done was done. The important thing was that Calleigh was safe.

Calleigh would have continued to argue with him, unaware that Tim had slipped away into his own dark thoughts, but then the sirens were on top of them, and before she could respond her apartment was swarmed with people – police, FBI agents, CSIs, EMTs – it seemed as though half of Miami-Dade County had responded to the call. Calleigh was separated from Tim in the chaos, and when she returned to find him he was gone, having been hauled off to the hospital by the EMTs.

_TBC…_


	8. Your Princess Too?

Chapter Eight: Your Princess too?

Day had long since broken by the time the Feds released Calleigh. She had been questioned by no less than three agents, and had told her story ten times over. None of the agents had asked how Tim had come to be in her apartment at the time of the shooting, and Calleigh didn't know whether to be relieved or worried. Horatio and the team made up the majority of the remaining officers, and they were busily processing her entire apartment. Calleigh desperately wanted to go to the hospital to check on Tim, but she had to speak with Horatio first.

"Horatio, can I speak with you?" Calleigh asked, touching his elbow. He was frowning, watching as Eric and Ryan argued over the best way to roll up Calleigh's rug and get it to the lab. Calleigh turned away from the bloodstained rug, willing the memories from earlier that morning to stay repressed in the small space she'd carved out for them deep in her heart.

"Of course," Horatio said, shooting Eric and Ryan one last warning look before following Calleigh down the back hallway. Once they were alone in the back of the apartment, Calleigh spoke.

"You're not going to search my bedroom, are you?" she asked.

"Calleigh, I know you're a private person, and I want to respect that, but you killed two men and a federal agent was assaulted. I'm going to have to go over every inch of your apartment."

"Horatio, those guys were never in my bedroom," Calleigh protested. "They didn't make it past the living room."

"I'm sorry sweetheart, but there's no other way." Horatio smiled reassuringly at Calleigh.

Calleigh tapped her foot nervously. "It's not that easy," she said, looking over her shoulder towards the living room to confirm that they were out of earshot.

"Would it make you feel better if I gave the job to Natalia? I know you two are friends…"

"Tim's been in my bedroom," Calleigh blurted out, interrupting him.

Horatio gave Calleigh a long, hard stare before speaking. "I take it you mean he's been in your bedroom for reasons other than professional?"

Calleigh nodded, feeling her face redden. She was tempted to explain her behavior, to tell him that her relationship with Tim was a very recent thing, that this had not been an ongoing affair, but she bit the inside of her cheek and kept silent. It didn't really matter if she'd been sleeping with Tim for five days or for the past five weeks. Either way, she'd slept with the federal agent assigned to protect her. She and Tim could both lose their jobs. It was bad enough that she was going to lose Tim.

"I'm sorry for disappointing you," she said quietly as the silence lengthened.

Horatio stared at the floor for several moments. Finally he spoke, his anger barely contained. "I'm going to have Natalia process your room," he said. "And then I will personally go over any evidence collected and remove anything incriminating."

"Thank you," Calleigh said gratefully.

"Don't thank me yet," he said. "There's going to be an investigation into this, as to why these two guys even made it this far. Tim's going to have some heavy questions to answer, Calleigh. I can protect you, but he's on his own. I suggest you two get your story straight."

"I'm headed to the hospital right now," Calleigh said, nodding her head.

Horatio held up his hand to silence her. "And then, once you do, I want you to stay away from him, do you hear me?"

Calleigh frowned at his paternalistic tone. "Why?"

"Because he's no good, Calleigh," Horatio said, in a tone that didn't invite questions. He stalked away, leaving Calleigh to ponder what he meant by his words. Horatio was quick to forgive even major transgressions, so she wondered what Tim could have possibly done to earn Horatio's ire. With an unsettled feeling in her stomach, Calleigh grabbed her purse and headed for the hospital. She and Tim had to get more than just their story straight.

_Secret Agent Man…_

Tim was asleep in his bed when Calleigh poked her head in his room. She'd bought him a balloon and flowers at the gift shop, knowing that it would have him rolling his eyes but unable to resist the bright bouquet. She had signed the attached card with a simple, "Love, Princess."

Tim looked much better than he had in her apartment, although his eye was still black and swollen and his forehead was taped with gauze. Calleigh crept over to the side of the bed and sat down in a chair, content to watch him rest.

"I told you I can't sleep with you staring at me like that, Princess," he said, rolling over on his side to face her.

"I didn't wake you up by staring at you."

Tim smiled weakly before reaching out with one hand to clasp Calleigh's. "Are they tearing your apartment apart?"

"Pretty much. Listen, Tim, I spoke with Horatio about the fact that there's some pretty incriminating evidence regarding me and you -"

"You told him about us?" Tim's voice was low and steady, but there was no mistaking the anger that bubbled beneath it.

"I had to," Calleigh explained. "He was going to find out anyway, and at least this way he can keep it quiet. What else was I supposed to do?"

"I can't believe you told Horatio," Tim said, dropping Calleigh's hand and rolling over on his back and directing his gaze towards the ceiling.

"What's the source of this bad blood between you two anyhow? He told me to stay away from you, that you're trouble."

"I could have told you that," Tim quipped. "Hell, _I did_ tell you that. Look, Horatio and I have a history that goes back way before you ever came to Miami. We try our best to stay out of each other's way."

"Can't you two just make amends? Whatever it is, it can't be that bad, or he wouldn't have let you take my case."

"He was _never_ okay with me taking your case. That's why I wasn't there while you were in the hospital, at least, not after that first night when I dropped by. My CO called me after you were admitted and said that I had been assigned to your case and that he was calling your boss to let him know. That was right after Horatio went by to see you. I'd gone home to change and pick up a few things when he called back and said that there were a few "issues" to be worked out and that for now, I could just wait. I knew that Horatio was calling in every favor and pulling every string to keep you off my case, and I figured that he'd get his way eventually. But I was already looking forward to seeing you again, and I couldn't walk away from this case without knowing that you were okay."

Calleigh interrupted him. "So that's what you meant when you stopped by that night and said that you were supposed to…"

"Right," he confirmed. "I didn't think that I was going to see you again."

"Would you have kissed me otherwise?" she asked.

Tim shook his head. "I don't know. Probably not. Although, if I remember correctly, you instigated that kiss, Princess, not me."

She laughed. It had been no accident that she had lifted her head at the last minute.

"Anyways," he continued. "Turns out my boss is one of the few people in Miami who has more connections than Horatio, and he saw no reason to pull me off the case just because Horatio doesn't like me. That's why I ended up at your apartment on Sunday night."

"What are you not telling me?" she asked, acutely aware that Tim was leaving out a very critical detail.

"Does it matter?"

"Why can't you tell me?"

"Because you're going to hate me when you find out."

"You don't know that," Calleigh argued. "Usually there are two sides to every story."

"There aren't two sides to this story," Tim sighed.

Calleigh was silent. It was up to Tim to volunteer the rest. She'd pushed him as far as she would. He didn't have to tell her, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to trust him if he didn't. And yet, if what he told her was as damning as he believed it to be, then perhaps their relationship (if what they were doing could be called a relationship) was over anyway.

Tim, perhaps, sensed this as well, because he cleared his throat and began speaking. "It was a long time ago – before you came to Miami. I'd been pulled off a big case to baby-sit some ritzy Miami socialite who had agreed to testify against her drug-running socialite buddies. I was angry enough about being pulled off my case, but even more so about having to baby-sit some airhead who did nothing but whine about how I was cramping her style. I couldn't take my eyes off her that she wasn't trying to slip away from me. For someone who had offered to testify, she was being awful recalcitrant. Anyways, we fought like cats and dogs, until one night when she came breezing home and looked me up and down like it was the first time she was seeing me. Before I knew what was happening, she had me pinned up against her front door and was kissing me."

Calleigh swallowed hard. The similarities of this case to her own experience with Tim couldn't be ignored. Was this why he'd been so hesitant to get involved with her? Her heart ached with jealousy at the thought of this unnamed woman seducing Tim. She didn't like the idea of him being with anyone but her, even though she knew it was a trivial issue. Tim wasn't the only lover she'd had; it was ridiculous for her to hold him to a higher standard.

"I resisted her…for about two seconds, before I figured, what the hell? I was single, and I thought she was too. Who were we going to hurt?"

Calleigh's stomach instantly went sour. She knew exactly where this story was headed, and she didn't want to hear the rest.

"Stop," she said, shaking her head. "How could you not know?"

"I was being paid to keep her safe, Calleigh, not to keep tabs on her social life. There were no pictures in her house that gave any indication that she had a boyfriend, and in the three weeks that I had watched her, she hadn't been tiptoeing into anyone else's house and no one had been tiptoeing into hers."

He paused. If she thought that was all there was to the story then she was sorely mistaken. It was already apparent that she'd heard enough to turn her away from him forever, but she might as well hear his full confession. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and bean speaking.

"That's just the beginning. She knew exactly what she was doing when she came on to me. Afterwards, I thought she'd fallen asleep, and so I stepped into the bathroom for just a second before I went back downstairs. As soon as I shut that door, she slipped out of bed and left. She was killed later that night." He took a deep, ragged breath. The shame burned deep in him, even after all these years. He didn't blame Horatio for hating him. Hell, most days he hated himself for what had happened.

A wave of emotions washed over Calleigh – anger, disbelief, disappointment, jealousy, sadness. She stared at Tim's guarded features, his closed eyes, waiting for him to open them and tell her it was all one big joke, that he hadn't slept with Horatio's girlfriend, that he hadn't turned his back on her, and that she hadn't been killed as a result. But Tim's eyes remained closed, and as the seconds lengthened into minutes, Calleigh knew that he was telling her nothing less than the truth.

Her first instinct was to comfort him. In spite of the fact that he'd messed up, he'd also been taken advantage of it. This woman, whoever she'd been, had obviously been desperate to escape, and had resorted to using the oldest trick in the book. Her second instinct was to ask him how he could have been so monumentally stupid, except that that question would, by association, imply that he was stupid to have gotten involved with her as well. Her third instinct, and the one she eventually went with, was to shut down and walk away. It would hurt less in the long run, and it was the easiest way to disengage herself from this mess.

Tim would understand, she thought. After all, as far as she knew, he was still planning on leaving. Really, all she was doing was saving him the trouble. She'd meant to ask him to stay, to beg him, really, but that secret was still hers alone. She could leave, and Tim would never be the wiser. Leaving was clearly best for all involved.

Her decision made, Calleigh straightened up in her chair and spoke, her voice cool and crisp. "We need to get our story straight. Horatio is going to keep us under wraps, but we still have to explain what you were doing in my apartment in the first place."

Tim gave no sign that he was aware of Calleigh's abrupt change of conversation. "No problem," he said easily, although he still refused to look at her. "We'll just tell them that I heard a noise and went up to your place to investigate, and that while I was up there the guys came in."

Calleigh frowned. "And they'll believe you, just like that?"

"Sure. Why wouldn't they?"

Calleigh shrugged. "I don't know. Is that what you said the last time?"

"Calleigh – It wasn't like that." There was a warning tone in his voice, but Calleigh ignored it. She was hurting, and it was easier to lash out at him than to acknowledge the pain she was feeling.

"What was it like then, Tim? Am I supposed to think that I'm different in some way? That I was special because you didn't slink out of my bed once you'd gotten what you wanted?"

"Hey –" Tim hissed, finally meeting her eyes. "You came onto me, remember?"

"Did you say that last time too?" Calleigh fired back. "Gee, Tim, you have an excuse for everything. Of course, it's not that hard to come up with answers when you've already used them once before." Calleigh stopped, aghast at what she'd just said. She was angry, but this was too much. No matter how much she was hurting, Tim didn't deserve this, not from her.

Tim glared at Calleigh before averting his eyes. "You _were_ different, Princess."

Calleigh stared off across the room, his words striking a chord deep inside her. When she spoke, her voice was again cool and detached. "What did you call her?"

Tim frowned. "What do you mean, what did I call her? You want to know her name, is that it?"

Calleigh shook her head. "No. I want to know what you called her. Was she your Princess too, Tim?"

Tim said nothing, merely turned his head away from Calleigh and pursed his lips.

Calleigh's heart sank. She had her answer. She stood then, brushing non-existent lint off her pants. "So I guess this is it then?"

Tim spoke, his voice oddly flat. "I guess it is."

Not confident that her voice wouldn't crack with emotion, Calleigh nodded, then spun on her heel and walked briskly from the room. It took every last bit of willpower she had not to turn around, and it was only when she'd reached the relative safety of her car that she allowed the barely-suppressed tears to fall.

_TBC…_


	9. Supposed To Be

Chapter Nine: Supposed To Be

With two men dead, Calleigh's trial date was pushed back another two weeks. By the time she arrived home on Thursday evening, less than twelve hours after ending things with Tim, she had a new federal agent in place. He was sitting on her couch when she walked in, and although Calleigh knew that she should be surprised at his appearance, she had no energy left to summon up either fear or anger.

He stood up when she walked into the room, revealing that he was a hulk of a man, well over six feet tall and built like a line backer. His dirty blond hair was cut short, and he had friendly blue eyes and a dimple in his chin. He was a near-exact replica of her youngest brother's best friend, so much so that Calleigh felt a pang of homesickness course unexpectedly through her body.

"Hello, Miss Calleigh," he said, holding out his meaty hand. Calleigh was taken aback by the drawl in his voice. Although she'd heard plenty of it growing up, since moving to Miami, accents as thick as the ones she'd heard back home were far and few between.

"I'm Jimmy," he said. "From the FBI. You were expecting me, weren't you?" He looked so concerned that Calleigh hadn't been informed of his arrival that she could only smile and say, "Of course."

"It's nice to meet you Jimmy," she added, ignoring the way her heart ached for Tim and the ridiculous hope she'd had that somehow, someway he was going to be sitting on her couch when she arrived home, wearing his usual smug smile and telling her that it was way past her bedtime.

"Speedle told me that it was okay to come on in, said he did it all the time. I hope that was okay."

"He did, did he?" Had she not had the run-in with Tim earlier that day, she would have laughed. She could just imagine the smirk on his face when he'd told Jimmy that, anticipating her irritated reaction. She'd have to fuss at him later for tricking a newbie. Calleigh caught herself. There would be no fussing at Tim, not later, not ever. They were over. He was gone.

"He filled me in on everything. Because of what happened today they've pulled him off your case. He's got a nasty concussion."

Calleigh gasped quietly. In her haste that afternoon, she'd never once asked Tim if he was okay. She pushed away the guilt before it could take root. He'd lied to her. She was supposed to be angry with him.

"Jimmy, how long have you been out of the Academy?"

He blushed. "Six months. Is it that obvious?"

Calleigh shook her head. "No. But you do need to watch out for Ti – Agent Speedle. He's liable to pull the wool over your eyes just for the hell of it if you're not careful."

Jimmy chuckled. "He said that you probably wouldn't speak too highly of him."

Calleigh's smile faded. "He did?"

Jimmy nodded. "He said he thought we'd get along just fine, though. Said it was his fault things between you two went sour."

"It sounds like he told you a lot about me," Calleigh remarked, trying to hide her irritation.

"He did," Jimmy agreed. "Most words I've ever heard Speedle say at a time. He's pretty quiet usually, you know? Tends to keep things to himself."

"That he does," Calleigh agreed softly.

"I best be getting out to the car," he said. "You're all set in here. Unless... are you going to be okay after what happened?"

Again, his concern was so palpable that Calleigh felt the need to reassure him. "I'll be fine." She paused. "You heard about all that, huh?"

"Oh yes," he said. "We heard everything. Speedle didn't have too much to say about it, but you and him are quite the talk over at the Miami field office."

Calleigh felt the blood drain from her face. When she started to see spots in her field of vision, she collapsed into the closest chair. "We are?" she asked weakly.

"Oh yes," Jimmy continued. "I mean, here you are, in the protective custody of a federal agent, fresh off a broken arm, and these two guys break into your apartment and who shoots them dead? _You._ I tell you, the boys are all turning green with envy."

"Is that all they're saying?" The tightness in Calleigh's chest was slowly dissipating.

"Well, they're also talking about that nasty crack Speedle took to his head." He looked at Calleigh. "Do you feel okay? Because you don't look so good."

"Oh yeah," she said, waving him off. "It's just been a long day." She smiled at him, hoping that the smile was more convincing than it felt.

"Well, I'll get out of your hair then, Miss Calleigh. I'll be downstairs if you need me."

Pride kept Calleigh from asking him any more about Tim. She was supposed to be angry with him. They were supposed to be over. She wasn't supposed to be worried about him, wasn't supposed to care about how he was doing, or where he was going…or if he was coming back.

Jimmy interrupted her thoughts. "Good-night," he said, touching the tip of his ball cap before he walked out the door.

He'd no sooner shut her door than Calleigh slumped further down in her chair. Horatio had obviously pulled some strings to get her back into her apartment so soon, but it wasn't the same without Tim in it. She kept waiting for him to walk in from the back of her apartment and sink down into the chair with her, pulling her onto his lap and kissing her senseless. She wasn't even sure that she could sleep in her bed again – after only six nights together, she'd grown accustomed to having him next to her, to tucking herself up against him and knowing that in his arms, she was safe… and able to believe that maybe, just maybe, she was loved. He'd been so right, about so many things, and she'd dared him to think that things could be different, simply because she was willing them to be so.

Calleigh looked around her living room. Although Eric and Ryan had removed her rug, she couldn't forget what had happened that morning, and just the thought made her blood run cold. Sleeping in here wasn't an option either, she realized.

Torn between two impossibilities and left with nowhere to sleep, Calleigh finally retreated to her bedroom. No one but her had to know that she was running back to Tim, that she was wrapping herself in sheets that smelled of him and burying her face in his pillow, or that one lonely tear fell before she bit the rest back.

The next morning Jimmy greeted her downstairs, again tipping his ball cap as she walked by his car. Calleigh smiled half-heartedly and suppressed a yawn. She'd barely slept a wink – between missing Tim and second-guessing her decision to walk out of that hospital room, she hadn't been able to slow her racing thoughts enough to fall asleep.

_Secret Agent Man…_

Her days passed quickly enough, even though Calleigh kept looking for Tim around every corner. She received plenty of concerned looks and gestures from her co-workers, all of whom attributed her distracted state of mind to the recent events at her apartment, which, Calleigh mused, was true enough. Only they were referring to the assault, and she was hung up on the federal agent who'd been moonlighting in her bed.

Jimmy was nice enough, always tipping his ball cap when he saw her, standing whenever she entered the room, referring to her as "ma'am" or "Miss Calleigh" whenever he spoke to her. Calleigh found his southern charm likeable enough, but her heart had already been stolen by a smart-mouthed New Yorker who seemed to have disappeared from Miami altogether.

Jimmy worried about her incessantly, continuing to ask about her flat mood long after her co-workers had stopped. "You're not still upset about what happened, are you?" he asked her one night.

Calleigh shook her head. "I never once feared for my life."

"So, are you worried about your court appearance?"

Again, Calleigh shook her head.

"Well, don't you worry about whatever it is that you're worrying about," he said. "You're in good hands."

Calleigh's laugh was mirthless. "So I've been told."

_Secret Agent Man…_

It was Horatio who first realized that Calleigh's flat affect was not because of the assault but because of Tim. The day before her rescheduled court appearance, he called Calleigh into his office. Calleigh, knowing what Horatio was up to, tried to cut him off.

"I'm all set on my testimony," she told him as she breezed into his office.

"I'm not worried about your testimony."

"Tim told me what happened," she offered, anxious to end the conversation. "I understand now why you said I should stay away from him."

Horatio frowned, and fiddled with his pen. "There's more to that story than he told you, probably more than even he's aware of."

Again, Calleigh cut him off. "It doesn't matter now. It's over…not that there was much to begin with in the first place. I don't even know where he is, or how to get in touch with him if I wanted to."

"And do you want to?"

Calleigh sighed. "I don't know. Rationally, I know that I'm supposed to be mad at him. That's _all _I'm supposed to feel towards him. And I want to be angry, I do… but I miss him, or at least I think I do. Maybe it's just that I miss the idea of him, and now that he's not here, it's easy to forget all the bad stuff and just sweep it under the rug." Calleigh rung her hands and paced across the office. "Who am I kidding? I'm sitting here acting like we were actually in a relationship, like there was more to us than…" Her voice died off. It was hard to admit to even herself that what she and Tim had been was little more than sex; it was impossible for her to admit this to Horatio.

"Calleigh." Horatio's soothing voice cut through her anxiety and stilled her. "When you're ready to hear the rest of the story, you come find me, okay?"

Calleigh nodded, but knew that hearing the rest of the story wouldn't make any difference. The one thing that mattered to her most of all, the trivial detail that she couldn't get past, was an undisputed fact. Everything else – Horatio's explanations, Tim's reasonings, her own doubts – was not enough to help her move past the one sticking point in all of this mess. She might have been Tim's princess, but she wasn't interested in sharing her crown with anyone. And somewhere, deep down inside of her, was the nagging thought that if Tim had let her walk out of that hospital room without once calling her back, then maybe she wasn't as different as she'd wanted to believe.

_TBC…_


	10. My Only Princess

Chapter Ten: My Only Princess 

Calleigh and Jimmy were outside the courtroom, waiting for the bailiff to call her in to testify. Jimmy sat quietly on a bench, pretending to read a magazine, although his watchful eyes never left the petite blond who was pacing frantically back and forth in front of him, murmuring to herself.

"Miss Calleigh, you have got to calm down," he said finally. "You're going to work yourself into a lather otherwise, and on top of that, you're making me dizzy."

Calleigh slung herself down on a nearby bench and glared at Jimmy as if to say, "See? I'm sitting now. Are you happy?" Jimmy smiled at her, amused, and returned to his magazine. Calleigh sighed and began to drum her fingernails briskly on the wooden bench. Just when Jimmy was about to beg her to stop that as well, the bailiff poked his head through the door and nodded at Calleigh.

Calleigh stood up, squared her shoulders, and held her head high as she walked through the doors. The feeling of nearly one hundred eyes settling upon her was a bit unnerving, and she almost faltered. Jimmy, however, was right behind her, right there to put his oversized hand on her lower back and give her a gentle nudge forward.

As she walked towards the judge, Calleigh reflected that walking into a packed courthouse such as this was not all that dissimilar from getting married. She was, after all, walking down an aisle of sorts, and everyone's eyes were upon her. And although she might not have been what everyone had been waiting for, at that moment, she could have sworn that everyone in the courtroom was holding his or her breath with eager anticipation.

The two tables seating the lawyers and their clients could have been the bridal parties. The defendants, three brooding mob-types with their equally suspicious looking lawyers, could have been the groomsmen, and the DA, Erin, along with her top ADAs, Nicole and Jill, all of whom were wearing conservative grey suits, made an excellent set of bridesmaids. The judge, somber and frowning in his flowing black robes, made for an excellent minister. All that was missing now, she realized, was the groom.

The comparison of her court appearance to that of a wedding ceased to amuse Calleigh after that thought. A wedding wasn't a wedding without a groom, and without Tim, she was just another witness, who had little to offer to the case.

As she reached the front of the courtroom, Jimmy squeezed her arm and said, "Go get 'em, girl." And then, like a father handing off his daughter-bride, he left Calleigh's side and sat down in the front row.

After being sworn in, Calleigh stepped into the witness box. She straightened her back, crossed her feet at the ankles, and clasped her hands firmly in her lap. The DA rose from her table, buttoned her jacket and smiled at Calleigh.

"Miss Duquesne," she began. Calleigh smiled back at her, looking braver than she felt. Although she had testified in court dozen of times during her stint as a CSI, she had never before been so nervous. Of course, she had never before had such damning evidence to hide, had never before had a reason to hope that the defense didn't have any questions for her. "Please state your full name and title for the court."

Calleigh answered, and she and the DA waltzed through their rehearsed moves flawlessly. Calleigh relaxed slightly, although the knot in between her shoulder blades never completely dissipated. The curve ball in this entire routine was the cross-examination. Although she and Erin had planned for every possible question, Calleigh knew that there was no way to rule out the possibility that the defense attorney had a spare ace up his sleeve. Erin didn't know about Calleigh and Tim, and Calleigh's deepest fear was that someway, somehow, what had happened between them would become public record. Calleigh knew that if it came down to it, that she wouldn't – she couldn't – deny what had happened between her and Tim, even though the admission would likely cost her her job, and possibly the case as well. These repercussions had been the last thing on her mind when she'd kissed Tim, but they were real enough now. Calleigh felt a thin film a sweat break out on her forehead. She crossed one hand over the other and discretely checked her pulse. It was racing, not that she'd needed to check her pulse to know that. Her heart was thumping wildly in her chest, threatening to crack a few ribs in its franticness.

Erin thanked Calleigh and sat down. The defense attorney wasted no time in rising from his seat. He asked her the usual battery of questions that Calleigh had been expecting – if she was sure she had seen his clients, if there were any other explanations other than what the prosecution had offered up - while making sure to steer away from any hard evidence. Calleigh's interactions with defense attorneys were usually brief, and this one was proving to be no exception. Just when Calleigh thought that she was out of the woods, that her secret would remain just that, the defense attorney threw one final hurdle at her.

"Miss Duquesne, would you say that it's fair that the integrity of a criminalist for the Miami-Dade Police Department should be above reproach?"

Calleigh answered with a succinct, "Yes," refusing to elaborate despite her desire to do so. She knew better than to offer up any extra information, as that was exactly what the defense attorney was hoping for – hoping that she'd slip up and reveal more than she should, giving him an opening to tear the case to shreds. And unfortunately, Calleigh knew exactly what he was after.

"And why is that?"

"Because the evidence we collect is used to prosecute alleged criminals. If our behavior is questionable, so is the evidence." Erin had warned Calleigh that the defense attorney would try to make the evidence questionable by attacking her character, but Erin had assumed that Calleigh had nothing to hide, and Calleigh hadn't been able to tell her otherwise. She resisted the urge to squirm in her seat. She'd made her bed. It was time to lay in it.

The attorney smiled at her like a cat grinning at its next meal, and Calleigh knew in that instant that he knew about her and Tim. It was all she could do to stay seated. She shot Erin a pleading look, begging her to object, petition for a recess, do anything to get her out of this damned witness box. Erin, however, was involved in a tete a tete with her ADAs, and missed Calleigh's look completely.

The defense attorney pursed his lips, and Calleigh's entire body froze. It was time to face the firing squad. Calleigh kept her eyes focused on him. If she was going to go down, it would be with her head held high.

To her surprise, the defense attorney broke her stare and nodded at the judge. "I have no further questions for this witness."

Calleigh managed, but only barely, to keep the stunned look off her face. She'd dodged two bullets in the last two weeks, and had come out standing both times. She decided to get off the witness stand and out of the courtroom before her fantastic luck ran out.

Calleigh stepped down, intent of leaving the courtroom, when the defense attorney announced, "The defense calls as a rebuttal witness Special Agent Timothy Speedle."

Calleigh's heart and feet stopped simultaneously, and she stared, along with the rest of the courtroom, towards the entrance. The doors opened, and Tim stepped through them, his gait as easy and unhurried as ever. Calleigh stepped to the side, intent on staying out of Tim's line of sight, when his dark eyes lighted on her. Instantly they lit up, the joy of seeing her unmistakable, even though his facial expression remained unchanged.

Her groom had arrived. Late indeed he was, but he was finally here, and there was no doubting that he was pleased to see her. Calleigh bristled. Tim had been called by the defense as a rebuttal witness, which only meant one thing – he was here for the sole purpose of discrediting her. And the only way he could discredit her was by admitting to the court that he had been in her bed – at her insistence. The mystery of how the defense knew was a mystery no longer.

The anger poured out of Calleigh so rapidly that she had to clench her hands into fists to keep from coming undone. Why was he doing this to her? Was it because she'd left him? There was no way that could be the reason; after all, he had been emphatic from the beginning that things between them were temporary at best. All she'd done by walking out first was save him the trouble of breaking things off with her. Calleigh was furious, but more than that, she felt utterly betrayed. She'd given Tim full, unfettered access to every part of her body, mind and soul, and now he was going to use that against her. _She'd told him that she loved him_. Worse than that, she _still did _love him, a fact that hadn't changed despite the circumstances. Never in her darkest nightmares had she imagined that things between them would end up like this.

What she couldn't figure out was why Tim seemed so pleased to see her. He had to know that what he was about to do would destroy not only her reputation, but also her career. He was completely crazy if he thought that his testimony would endear himself to her.

Calleigh averted her eyes as Tim walked by. Turning, she tapped Jimmy on the shoulder, who obliged her by scooting over and making room for her at the end of the aisle.

"What's going on, Miss Calleigh?" Jimmy asked quietly.

"I'm not sure yet," Calleigh whispered back.

Tim was sworn in and took his seat. He was completely relaxed, as if unaware or uncaring that he was about to destroy Calleigh and her career. Calleigh shivered, then reached out and clasped Jimmy's hand, who allowed her to take it without question.

The defense attorney could barely contain his glee as he rose out of his seat. "Mr. Speedle, please state your name and position for the record."

"Former Special Agent Timothy Speedle, FBI."

The defense attorney stopped in mid-stride, his mouth agape. "Former?" he asked, quickly regaining his composure.

Calleigh's composure, on the other hand, was fading away by the second. That Tim had left the FBI was a shock. His as yet untold reason was likely to be even more surprising.

Tim nodded. "I turned in my letter of resignation this morning."

The defense attorney looked at the judge. "I need a fifteen minute recess to confer with my witness."

The judge looked irritated, but as it was close to lunchtime, granted the defense their wish and recessed court early. Calleigh saw Tim step off the stand and speak briefly with the attorney, shrugging his shoulders as the attorney's ears, neck, and eventually his entire face reddened with anger. Tim shrugged one final time and threw his hands up, then headed for the exit.

"I've got to go," Calleigh told Jimmy. "It's been a pleasure." She was up and moving towards the exit, following Tim's trail before Jimmy had a chance to respond. Calleigh pushed through a side door and stepped out into the hallway. She was positive that she'd seen Tim head this way, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Her phone vibrated on her hip, and Calleigh reluctantly turned her attention to it. She didn't even glance at the caller idea before answering with a sharp "Duquesne" as her eyes continued to roam the corridor.

"Meet me outside," Tim said. "I'm in the black pickup at the end of the block."

He hung up before Calleigh could respond. Attempting to look casual, Calleigh strolled outside, shielding her eyes against the bright Miami sun. She could just make out the black truck at the end of the block. Calleigh walked towards it, feeling sicker and sicker the closer she got to it, but unable to turn away. When she put her hand on the door handle, she paused, the need to vomit so strong that she had to close her eyes and take several deep breaths.

The windows were tinted so dark that she couldn't even tell if there was anyone in the truck. Calleigh took one last deep breath and pulled open the door.

Tim was sitting in the driver's seat, his face turned expectantly towards her. "Are you going to get in?" he asked when she hesitated.

"Should I?"

"Depends on if you want an explanation or not."

"I could have done without the last explanation you gave me."

Tim smiled ruefully. "This one's better, I promise."

Calleigh sighed, but climbed in the truck and shut the door. Her curiosity was getting the better of her. "This better be good," she told him.

"I'm sorry about what happened at the hospital," Tim began.

"You were only telling the truth."

"Perhaps, but I shouldn't have let you walk out of that room."

"You didn't owe me anything, Tim. You don't owe me anything now. It was a temporary arrangement – you said so yourself. It was convenience and physical attraction – nothing more." Little of what she'd just uttered was true, but Calleigh wasn't about to admit her true feelings now.

"Why are you acting like this?" Tim asked, anger flaring in his eyes.

"Acting like what?"

"Like you don't care. Like you're made of steel and iron. Like you didn't tell me that you loved me."

Calleigh glared at him, but didn't respond. She'd been half-hoping that he would forget that she'd said that, half-hoping that he wouldn't.

"I know you meant it, Calleigh. And I know you don't believe me, but I meant it too."

"Tim, we had sex. Yes, it was good, and yes, I enjoyed it, but we never made it out to be anything more."

Tim chuckled softly. "Fine, Calleigh. Have it your way. It was _just sex_. And because it was _just sex_, I quite my job at the FBI so the defense wouldn't have anything to blackmail me with and coerce me into admitting that we were sleeping together when you shot those guys." His voice was bitter, but there was a trace of hurt as well.

Calleigh could only stare at him. "The defense was blackmailing you?"

Tim nodded. "I don't know how, but they knew what was going on between us. And they promised me that they would make sure that I wouldn't lose my job if I testified that we were sleeping together."

"I thought you were the one who told them in the first place."

It was Tim's turn to glare. "I can't believe you think that I would do something like that."

"You wanted to keep your job, didn't you?"

"Yes."

She shrugged, as if indicating that he'd just proved her point.

"Why didn't you tell the prosecution that the defense was blackmailing you?" she asked. "You could have done that. The judge would have likely recused their attorneys…and you could have kept your job."

"Because I would have had to admit what they were blackmailing me with, and our _just sex _affair would have been made public. The only way that I could protect you was by quitting. With no job to hang over my head, they couldn't make me admit to it. And if they did, then they knew I would go to the prosecution with the blackmailing scheme. Besides, Calleigh, you know that telling the prosecution would only result in a mistrial. We'd just have to start over from the beginning, and you'd be another six months in protective custody…which I know you don't want."

Calleigh shrugged. "I happen to enjoy Jimmy's company."

"You enjoyed mine too," Tim pointed out, giving her a conspiratorial look.

Calleigh turned up her nose and looked out the window. She knew he hadn't meant his comment the way her anger wanted her to interpret it, and chose to change the subject instead. "I still can't believe you just up and quit your job."

"It wasn't an easy decision to make, believe me. I lost a lot of sleep, endlessly debating the pros and cons. But in the end, I realized that I love you, and it wasn't worth it to me to keep my job by destroying you. Maybe to you it was _just sex_, but it meant more than that to me. We may be through, Calleigh, but that doesn't mean I don't still care about you." He was angry, although whether it was her he was angry with or the circumstances, Calleigh couldn't be sure.

"I don't know what to say, Tim. This is a lot to take in."

"You don't have to say anything. I wasn't expecting this revelation to send you falling back into my arms…although you're more than welcome to." He smiled sadly. "I know that there are other things that I can't justify or explain, and that it was those things that made you walk out of my hospital room. I just wanted you to know why I did what I did today."

Calleigh remained silent and continued to stare out the window.

Tim drew her attention back to him as he touched her arm. "Calleigh?"

She met his eyes, unable to mistake the love in them for anything other than what it was.

"There's something else I should have told you in that hospital room, something I should have said, should have clarified before you walked out."

"Tim, I can't take any more of your revelations." Calleigh's voice was tired and weary.

Tim ignored her, caressing her arm gently as he said, "You have always been, and will always be, my only Princess."

Calleigh's eyes widened, and she pulled her arm out of Tim's grasp. "I can't do this," she said, clawing at the door handle, her fingers slipping a few times before finding their target. She threw open the door and stumbled out of the truck, breathing in the thick, humid Miami air. Calleigh slammed the door shut and walked briskly back towards the courthouse, never once looking behind her.

It wasn't until later that day that she remembered that Tim had once said that he wasn't about to quit his job for anyone, and she wondered what that said about his feelings towards her if he had quit because of her.

_TBC…_

_Thank you Deb for your help with this chapter._


	11. The Whole Truth

Chapter Eleven: The Whole Truth

The trial finished up less than a week later, and the jury wasted no time returning a guilty verdict. Calleigh managed to force a smile when Erin came by with the news.

"I know you're glad this is over," she said.

Calleigh nodded. "I'm just ready for my life to get back to normal. This whole case has been a disaster from start to finish."

Erin smiled and agreed. Her smile faded, and she looked at Calleigh. "Why did they call Tim to the stand? What part of your testimony could he possibly refute? I asked the defense, but they're under no obligation to tell me, and you know they don't give up anything willingly. I've been meaning to ask you, but I haven't had time."

Calleigh shrugged, hoping that she looked less concerned than she really was. "I don't know. He was there when the accident happened, and the shooting. Maybe they thought he'd seen something different."

Erin looked unconvinced. "Those were pretty undisputable facts. I thought it might have had something to do with what he asked you at the end of the cross-examination, except what could you possibly have done that's ethically questionable? From what I hear, you're the golden child around here."

Graphic images flashed through Calleigh's head of all the ethically questionable things she'd been doing with Tim. "That's me," she teased, recovering quickly. "Miss By-The-Book."

Erin laughed. "Anyways, it doesn't matter now. I've been meaning to ask you something else though, about Tim."

"Oh?"

"He's very attractive, don't you think?"

Calleigh stared at Erin, confused. "Tim?" she asked.

"Yes, Tim. I swear, Calleigh, I don't know how you managed to keep your hands to yourself with him traipsing through your apartment every day. He looks good enough to eat."

"I don't know," Calleigh responded, desperate for the conversation to be over. She didn't want to risk exposing her relationship with Tim after he'd gone to such lengths to keep it hidden. "I guess I never really thought about Tim that way."

Erin shook her head. "You really must have been worried about the case if you missed his good looks. Did you hear that he's staying in Miami?"

"Oh?" Calleigh said weakly.

"I think he's trying to get on with the PD. If he does, I was thinking about asking him out for drinks. What do you think?"

Calleigh realized that the surprise she felt must have registered on her face, because Erin laughed. "What? You don't think I should? Is there something you know that I don't?"

"Erin, I really don't know Tim that well. We didn't spend that much time talking." Calleigh's face reddened slightly at the thought of what she and Tim _had_ spent their time doing. She coughed to hide her discomfort. "Um…. I need to get back to work. Thanks though, for everything, and congratulations on winning the case."

"Thanks for all your help," Erin said. "I'll let you know how things go with Tim."

Calleigh watched her walk away, too confused to think straight. She was shocked to hear that Tim was planning on staying in Miami, and possibly taking a position that would put her and him in frequent contact. Calleigh decided it was time to talk to Horatio. He would know what Tim's plans were, and more than that, he might have some answers for her. Calleigh hurried off towards his office, ignoring for the moment the now familiar pang of jealousy that cropped up every time she thought about Tim being with anyone else but her.

_Secret Agent Man…_

Calleigh was relieved to find Horatio in his office and alone. She knocked on his open door and stepped through. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure," he said, setting down his pen. "Have a seat."

Calleigh closed the door behind her and perched in one of the empty chairs. The roomy chair begged for her to lean back in it, but Calleigh was wound too tightly.

"You heard about what happened with the trial?" she asked.

"I did," he said.

"They were blackmailing him, Horatio. They knew about us, or at least had their suspicions, and they told Tim that if he testified, they'd make sure that he didn't lose his job when the story came out. If he didn't testify, they'd leak the news anyways, and make sure he lost his job."

"But Tim quit," Horatio said. "And they lost any leverage they had with him."

Calleigh nodded. "He did. He told me – we spoke – after he testified. I wanted him to tell the DA that the defense was blackmailing him, but he refused."

"Because he wanted to keep what had happened between you two quiet."

"Yes. How do you know all this?"

Horatio paused a moment before answering. "I spoke with Tim earlier today. He told me everything."

"I thought you two weren't on speaking terms."

"We weren't. But as I told you earlier, there was a lot more to the story about what happened between Tim and me than he was aware of. I'd been too stubborn to tell him, but he called, and wanted to bury the hatchet. He said that he was looking to get on with the PD, and was hoping that we could develop a better working relationship. So I told him everything I knew, and he told me why he had left the Bureau."

"Did he say why he was staying in Miami?"

Again, Horatio paused. "I think you need to ask him that question."

"I don't have any way to get in touch with him."

"He left his number with me, said I should give it to you if you wanted it. Do you?"

Horatio held out a scrap of paper, and Calleigh debated on whether or not she wanted to take it. If she didn't, she could feign ignorance and could walk away, taking her chances on Tim changing his mind about the Miami-Dade PD. "What are the odds that he's going to end up with Miami PD?"

"He starts next week," Horatio said. Calleigh's mind raced through several possible scenarios. That she would run into Tim was a given. Would they be able to move past what had happened and be coworkers? Or would things always be uncomfortable between them?

Calleigh squared her shoulders. "I think I should hear the rest of the story."

Horatio nodded. "I think you should too…and then I think you should talk to Tim." He held the scrap of paper out to Calleigh, who shook her head.

"I want to hear the rest of the story first."

"Fair enough."

"I met Ella about a month before she went into protective custody. She came by work late one afternoon to meet me for supper, and I left her in my office for a few minutes to step out and take something down to Alexx. I never once thought…."

He looked up at Calleigh and shrugged. "Tim wasn't the only one who Ella was playing. I came back and found her snooping through some case files on my computer. To this day I still don't know how she got the access codes. When I confronted her about it, she broke down, told me that her brother had gotten tangled up with some drug dealers and was now under arrest. She was desperate to help him, so I agreed to look into his case for her. Ella confided in me that she had evidence that would exonerate him, but that she was too scared to go to the DA. I convinced her to let me call up the DA, so he came over, and Ella told him what she knew. Not only did the evidence clear her brother, but it gave us enough to obtain several warrants against some really big guns in one of Miami's drug cartels. The DA immediately placed Ella under protective custody and promised her that they'd keep her brother safe. Looking back, I should have suspected something, because Ella got this funny look on her face when he said that and asked if he could just drop the charges against her brother. But the DA had smelled blood in the water, and he wasn't about to let her brother go without them both first agreeing to testify."

Calleigh interjected. "So she was assigned to Tim."

Horatio nodded. "He was not happy. They'd been close to closing a case, but he was the junior most ranking member, and so of course they pulled him off."

"Horatio, if she was so desperate to help her brother, then why was she so reluctant to testify? I know if that had been one of my brothers, I would have done anything to help him."

Horatio sighed, and Calleigh noticed that his shoulders slumped slightly. "Because Francis wasn't her brother."

He paused again, and Calleigh saw just how much this story pained him. She and Tim weren't the only ones who had been hurt by this case. She reached out across his desk and placed her hand over his. "Who was he then?"

"Her husband."

The room went deathly silent. Calleigh could only stare at Horatio and at the pain pouring out of his blue eyes. Her brain was refusing to process this new information.

"Her husband?" she asked, hoping that she'd heard wrong.

"Her husband."

"Horatio…"

"I know, sweetheart. What Tim knew only scratched the surface."

"But she's still dead."

Horatio said nothing. Calleigh looked at him, waiting for his agreement. When he remained silent, Calleigh asked, "She is dead, isn't she, Horatio?"

"Not exactly," he said finally.

Calleigh's eyes narrowed. "Horatio, what the hell is going on? Tim's been living with this enormous guilt hanging over his head for years, thinking that he was responsible for her death. How could you let him live with that? You didn't know either, right? Right?" Her voice rose with every word.

"Calleigh, sometimes we do things, and they seem right at the time, and it takes a while before we realize that maybe we were wrong."

"You knew she wasn't dead and you didn't tell Tim? Horatio, how could you? Don't you know what that guilt's done to him?"

"I was angry, Calleigh. We'd both been worked over by Ella, and I was too embarrassed about my role in it to admit to Tim what had really happened."

Calleigh shook her head. "Back up. What _did_ happen to her?"

"Ella never meant for me to catch her snooping in my files. She was going to find the evidence against her husband, destroy it, and then disappear. When I walked in on her, plans changed. She was fast on her feet, I'll give her that."

Calleigh crossed her arms and frowned. She wasn't ready to give Ella anything.

"And?"

"And when the DA shoved her into protective custody, she knew she had to escape. She couldn't testify. The people she implicated were members of a rival cartel, and she knew it was only a matter of time before they found out. So she got in touch with her husband's business partners, and had them arrange to stage her death. Once that was done, all she had to do was figure out how to give Tim the slip. But no matter what she tried, she couldn't manage to escape him. When she finally got desperate enough, well…I suppose Tim told you what happened then."

Calleigh buried her face in her hands. "Tim," she murmured, wondering how he'd reacted when he'd heard the news.

"He's lucky she finally managed to give him the slip, Calleigh. She was set to testify in three days. There's not a doubt in my mind that they would have killed him to get to her."

Calleigh's laugh had a distinctly hysterical tone to it. "So Tim saved his own hide by sleeping with her? This is just absolutely unreal."

"Tim said the same thing," Horatio said quietly.

"But she just hung her husband out to dry? That doesn't make much sense either."

"They were on the outs. She wouldn't have helped him, but her husband owed his business partners a wad of money, and they wanted it back. And the only way they could get it back was to get him out of jail. She was the only one without a record, so they picked her to go in. And when she still refused, they kidnapped her child. She may not have loved her husband, but that little girl meant the world to her."

"But if she failed them, why would they agree to bail her out?"

"Because she turned the heat up on their biggest rivals. The Feds focused all their attention on them for months, and their business grinded to a halt, giving Francis' partners a chance to swoop in and steal their customers. She made them millions."

"What did Tim say when you told him all this?"

"He was relieved that she was alive," Horatio said. "Everything else…after all this time, he said it just didn't matter anymore. As long as he didn't have to live with the guilt of her death on his conscience, that was all that mattered to him."

"So you two are okay?"

Horatio nodded. "I believe so."

Calleigh shook her head. With one phone call, and some long overdue honesty, Tim and Horatio had been able to mend their broken fences. Did this mean that she and Tim could do the same?

Horatio interrupted her musing. "Do you still want Tim's number?"

"I don't know," Calleigh said.

"We all make mistakes, Calleigh. We all do things that we aren't proud of. But all we can do is move forward, and hope that those who matter to us are willing to forgive us."

"It's a lot to forgive, Horatio. And as for forgetting it…"

"You can't blame him for what happened before he met you."

"But if I can't trust him about it not happening again…Ella wasn't the only one."

"Tim's matured a lot since then. He was a little wild when he was younger, but he's since grown up. His job means a lot to him. Everything he's done since has been strictly by the book."

"Except for me," Calleigh added.

"Except for you. It's up to you to decide whether or not that means anything. And I think you'll find that if you look hard enough, everything Tim has done or said since meeting you has been done with your best interests in mind."

Calleigh was still trying to wrap her head around everything. "I just don't get it. If his job meant that much to him, then why did he quit?"

Horatio gave Calleigh a long, hard look. "I think that's another question that you should save for him."

Calleigh sighed. "I don't want to be the reason Tim quit his job. I don't want him to resent me."

"I think that if you talk with him, you'll find that the last thing Tim feels towards you is resentment."

"It sounds like I'm going to need his number then," Calleigh said. Horatio smiled at her, and handed her the scrap of paper.

Calleigh stood up, tucking Tim's number into her front pants pocket. "I'll think about it," she said. "Either way, I won't let this get in the way of us working together."

"I know you won't."

Calleigh left then, having more answers but still just as confused.

_Secret Agent Man…_

She waited until the Sunday night before Tim was due to start with the PD to call him. Ignoring the way her hand shook, she punched in the numbers, then held the phone to her ear and closed her eyes.

The phone didn't even get through its second ring before Tim answered. His gruff hello melted her at once.

"Tim?" she asked. "This is Calleigh."

"I know."

"Horatio gave me your number, I hope that's okay."

"I've been hoping that you would call."

"Listen, Tim, I'm sorry about what happened in the truck the other day."

"Calleigh, you don't have to apologize for anything." His words reminded her that she'd told him the same thing earlier. If he had nothing to apologize for, and she had nothing to apologize for, then why were things between them still so awkward?

Calleigh took a deep breath and asked the question that had been bothering her all week. "Tim, why are you hiring on with the MDPD?"

He sighed. "I need a job, Calleigh. And I'm not really interested in packing up my few meager possessions and moving to a new city. And…" he paused. "And I was hoping that it would give you and me some more time to figure things out…. assuming that you're even interested in doing so."

"I don't know," Calleigh admitted.

"I know you don't," he said. "But I was hoping that you might be willing to give us a second chance. I've missed you, Calleigh. Part of the reason that I didn't want to get involved with you was because I was already half in love with you, and I didn't want to break my own heart when your case was over and I had to disappear. But now that I'm staying, well, I'm not coming up with any good reasons not to stay in love with you."

"Tim…"

"Look, Calleigh, I know I screwed up big time. But all the things that you're holding over my head are things that happened a long time before we met. I'm not like that anymore. I didn't get involved with you because it was convenient. I swore that kind of behavior off a long time ago. I got involved with you because I was in love with you, and I couldn't deny that anymore. I meant what I said in the truck the other day. I don't know if that makes a different to you or not."

He stopped speaking then, having bared every last bit of his broken heart to her. She could take it or leave it, but either way; he was done pleading his case. He wanted Calleigh back in his life and in his arms more than anything, but he wasn't going to crawl on his knees to get her.

"What am I supposed to say to all that, Tim? I can hardly think straight."

"It's not about thinking, Calleigh. You know how you feel about me, even if you're not ready to admit it to yourself. The only thing that's keeping us apart is your inability to forgive my transgressions. But in the end, that's what it comes down to – forgiveness. I still love you, Calleigh. That hasn't changed."

"It's not that easy, Tim."

"I think it is."

Calleigh paused, hoping that Tim had more to say. Why was this so difficult? If she missed him as much as she thought she did, then she should be jumping at the opportunity to be with him again. Was it the idea that they'd actually have to work at this? That whatever they had had between them could turn into a normal relationship? No longer would their relationship consist solely of stolen moments in her bedroom, where it was possible to forget that the outside world existed. Had she pursued Tim because she knew that they could never have a normal relationship? Or was Tim speaking the truth – that the only thing lying between them and happiness was her inability to forgive him?

Tim interrupted her. "Calleigh, I need to go to bed. When you make up your mind, you know where to find me."

He hung up before Calleigh could stop him. She replaced the phone in its cradle and looked around her apartment. Was this what she wanted from life? An empty apartment and a cold bed? Before Tim, she'd been perfectly content with her life. But then he'd managed to worm his way into her heart and into her bed, and suddenly everything she'd had was no longer enough. Calleigh stood up and headed for bed. It was late. She climbed between her sheets, imagining that Tim was still downstairs watching over her, and wishing that he was still in bed beside her.

_TBC…_


	12. Confidant

Chapter Twelve: Confidant

Calleigh was prepared to be unnerved by Tim's arrival at MDPD, but she wasn't expecting to be bowled over by the emotions that flowed through her when she first saw him. She had imagined that she would be able to study him with a clinical indifference while watching him from afar, but instead she was holding her hand to her chest, trying to keep her fluttering heart from flying right out of it. She'd also fervently believed that seeing him would crystallize her feelings towards him, but all it did was intensify every feeling, good and bad, that she had for him.

It was almost surreal the way he stood there, talking to Delko and going over the details of a case like he'd been at the PD for years instead of hours. With his back to her, Calleigh managed to slip by unnoticed, grateful that their inevitable meeting would be delayed just a while longer, knowing that she would be no more ready for it then than she was now.

She had just gotten settled in the ballistics lab when Natalia poked her head in. "Did you meet the new detective?"

"Yeah," Calleigh said half-heartedly. Natalia raised one eyebrow.

"Did I miss something?"

Calleigh sighed. "He was the agent assigned to me while I was under protective custody."

"And?"

"And…" Calleigh paused. She needed someone to confide in, and Natalia was her best – and only - option. "Can I tell you something? In confidence?"

"Sure," Natalia said, pulling up a chair and sitting next to Calleigh. "What's up?"

"We were involved." Calleigh's voice was little more than a whisper.

"Oh." Natalia was clearly surprised. "I take it you're not involved anymore?"

Calleigh shook her head. "We had a falling out, of sorts."

"What'd he do?"

"Nothing, really," Calleigh said, which was true enough. "It's just that, well, I thought that I was different, that our relationship, or whatever you want to call it, was something special."

"And it wasn't?"

"I'm not sure. He quit the Bureau to keep the news of our affair out of the court. He gave up his job for me, because he was more worried about what would happen to me than him, and that was after we broke up. And before that, he told me he loved me, and he told me just last night that he still does. But before we got involved, he also told me that he'd gotten involved with women that he'd had to protect in the past."

"So let me get this straight – you knew that he'd gotten involved with these women like you in the past?"

"Yes." Calleigh buried her face in her hands.

"And I take it that once the assignments were over, so were the affairs?"

"Yes."

"But you got involved with him anyway, and then things got complicated."

"He tried to tell me not to do it. But I kept pushing him, and well…"

Natalia interrupted. "Why would you do something like that, Calleigh? That's not like you."

"I don't know!" Calleigh wailed. "I knew he was attracted to me, but he kept pushing me away. So then it was like a challenge. And…and I liked him – a lot. He drove me crazy at first, but there was just something about him."

"So after you shot those guys, he broke things off?"

"No, I did, but not before I told him that I loved him. There were a few other damning details that came out, and I just couldn't believe any more that I was any different or meant anything to him."

"Even though he never said that?"

"Right."

"And after that he quit his job so that he wouldn't have to testify about your affair in court?"

Calleigh nodded. "I spoke with him afterwards. He told me that he'd done it because he loved me, and that he'd rather ruin his career than me. But he'd told me earlier, before we got together, that those other women had wanted him to quit his job, and he wasn't about to do that for any woman. And then he turned around and did just that."

"Dang," Natalia said. "Now what?"

"I don't know. He took this job at the PD in case I changed my mind, but he's not being pushy or anything. Aside from me, he said he didn't want to have to pack up and move to another city."

"So he still wants to have a relationship, but you don't because…?"

"I don't know. He says it's because I can't forgive him for what happened before we met."

"What do you think?"

"I don't know. I mean, I miss him like crazy, but we didn't have much of a relationship to go on before this. Maybe I just miss having him in my bed, you know?" Calleigh's ears reddened. It was hard for her to admit this to anyone else, even Natalia, who she considered a close friend. "But I don't think it's just that. My very heart hurts, Nat. It hurts all the time, and when I saw him this morning I thought it would break right then and there. I can't sleep, I don't want to eat...all I can do is think about him, and wonder why I'm bringing so much misery upon myself."

"So why don't you go talk to him?"

"Because I have no idea what to say to him."

"Do you still love him?"

Calleigh nodded.

"Does he know that?"

Calleigh shrugged.

"That might be a good place to start," Natalia pointed out, smiling slightly.

Calleigh looked unconvinced. "What do you think, Nat?"

Natalia smiled at her. "I think you already know what you need to do, even if every other phrase out of your mouth is 'I don't know.'"

Calleigh drummed her fingers on the table. "You think I'm being unreasonable?"

"I think you're thinking too hard," she said. "Your fears and doubts are certainly reasonable enough to have. But if you're as unhappy as you look, then maybe it's time to listen to your heart instead of your mind. Because it doesn't sound like Tim did anything to hurt you while you were together. In fact, he went out of his way to keep from hurting you – before, during, and after you were involved. And I think you need to give him a chance to prove himself to you. We all do stuff that we regret. But as long as we learn from our mistakes, that's all we can ask for."

"So I've been told," Calleigh murmured.

"He loves you, Cal. And you still love him."

"I'm just not sure that that's enough," she sighed.

Natalia's beeper went off. "I have to go," she said, glancing at the beeper. "Anytime you want to talk…"

"I know," Calleigh said. "Thanks."

She watched Natalia walk away, and then focused on her work. It wasn't so hard to forget about Tim while she was at work and had plenty to keep her focused. It was the long, lonely nights that stretched on for seemingly forever that were driving her crazy, and the ache in her heart that no pain reliever could touch.

_TBC…_


	13. Pushing the Issue

Chapter Thirteen: Pushing the Issue

Calleigh avoided Tim for the rest of the week, managing to find enough work to keep her buried until late in the night, going home only when she was too tired to do anything other than collapse from sheer exhaustion. Even then her sleep was fitful, tormented by dreams of Tim, and she woke up crying out his name more than once. It was no way to live, but she was out of options.

It was late Friday evening when Tim stopped by the ballistics lab. He rapped gently on the door and stepped in, smiling with amusement to see Calleigh's head on the table, her golden hair fanned out around her. From the way her back rose and fell in a slow and steady rhythm, it was obvious that she was fast asleep, her pen still clasped loosely in her right hand. Tim sat the envelope with the bullet down on the table and sank into the chair next to her. He watched her for a few moments, studying every nuance of her face – the face that he had kissed hundreds of times, the face that he would gladly sell his soul for to kiss one more time. He tried not to think about how good things had been when they were together, how happy he'd been, how happy he'd _thought _Calleigh had been, but he wasn't in the mood to resist his memories, and so he gave into them, recalling every moment that they'd shared – every whispered word, every sigh of pleasure, every cry of satisfaction.

He'd hoped that they might try to start over once he started at the PD, now that every skeleton from his closet had been pulled out and all his dark secrets had been brought to light, but so far Calleigh was doing her best to ignore him. He'd caught several brief glimpses of her during the week, but every time she'd seen him she would spin around and take off in the opposite direction, disappearing in the labyrinth of hallways that he still couldn't navigate. This was her home turf, and she was far more adept at running from him than he was at following her. He hated that things in his past, things that had nothing to do with her but still gave her plenty of reason to mistrust him, were keeping them apart.

"I would never hurt you, Princess," he whispered softly.

Calleigh stirred, and Tim froze. A moment later her eyes fluttered open. Although he knew she must be surprised to see him, she was clearly too tired to react. "How am I supposed to sleep when you're staring at me?" she asked sleepily, yawning through the last few words.

Tim stared at Calleigh. Surely she couldn't be teasing him like this? Surely she remembered as vividly as he did what those words had led to the first time he'd said them?

Calleigh smiled sleepily, and Tim finally smiled back. "I guess I deserved that," he said.

Calleigh sat up and stretched. "You're getting it all wrong," she said before another yawn claimed her. "You're supposed to say, 'I didn't wake you up by staring at you.'"

She smiled, embarrassed, when Tim recited the words along with her.

"So what'd you bring me?" she asked, turning the conversation back to safer topics.

"A bullet that Delko collected earlier today. Calleigh, you should go home. You don't look like you've been sleeping very well."

"Thanks," she said sarcastically, frowning at him.

"It's your fault, you know," she added after a minute.

"Why is it always my fault that you're not sleeping well? When we were sleeping together, it was my fault. And now that we're not, it's still my fault. What would you have me do?" The words slipped out before he could stop them.

Calleigh looked at him, surprised.

"I am _so_ sorry," Tim said hastily. "I didn't mean it like that."

Calleigh watched Tim for a moment, his embarrassment clearly on display, before bursting out laughing, producing a deep and rich belly-shaking laugh that Tim had never heard before. When Calleigh finally stopped laughed, she wrapped her arms around her waist and smiled at him.

"Thanks," she said, slightly out of breath. "I needed that. And for the record, I slept _quite_ soundly while we were together. I just didn't sleep _very much_."

To Calleigh's surprise, Tim didn't take her bait. Instead, he thought for a moment, then asked, "And now?"

"Now I'm not sleeping very soundly or very much."

"And before?"

"Before doesn't matter. I can't go back to before."

"But we don't have to stay in after, either," Tim pointed out, reaching over to take one of Calleigh's hands in both of his.

Calleigh looked down at her hand, surprised to see it clasped so securely in Tim's, but she didn't pull away.

"How's your week gone?" she asked, proud that her voice didn't shake too much. "I haven't had a chance to ask you."

"That's because every time you see me you turn and run in the opposite direction."

Calleigh looked away. "I just wasn't ready to face you."

"Would you have ever been ready?" Tim pressed.

Calleigh shrugged. "You didn't answer my question," she pointed out.

Tim sighed. "It's been good. Everyone around here has been great, especially Delko. He wanted me to go out with him tonight, but I needed to talk to you first."

"Why?" Calleigh asked, fear gnawing at her.

"Because you're more important to me, and I finally had a good excuse to come down and see you."

"You can always stop by and say hello, Tim."

"I don't want to just stop by and say hello, Calleigh. I want to stop by at the end of the day and ask you if you're ready to go home…with me, to our place."

Calleigh squirmed in her chair. The conversation was out of her control. No matter how much she tried to steer it in a safe direction, Tim kept efficiently and effortlessly navigating it back to them.

"Who were you and Eric going to go out with?" Calleigh asked, her eyes narrowing as she recalled the conversation she'd had with Erin earlier.

"Just us," Tim said, confused. "Why? Did you want to come?"

"Just you two? Were you going to meet someone somewhere?"

Tim was now thoroughly confused. It was obvious that Calleigh was angling for something, but he couldn't figure out what. "No."

"Delko's got a knack with the ladies, in case you haven't figured that out yet," Calleigh said. "You best have someone to meet up with later when he runs off with his latest love."

The wheels that had been slowly turning in Tim's head clicked into place. "This is about Erin."

Calleigh's cheeks colored, but she said nothing.

Tim chuckled and pulled Calleigh hand up to his lips. "You're jealous," he teased, kissing her hand quickly. Calleigh snatched her hand away and crossed her arms.

"I am not," she stated emphatically.

Tim shook his head, amused. "Princess, all that animosity towards Erin is wasted energy. I've only got eyes for you. Although you do look cute when you're mad."

"She _said _that you looked good enough to eat."

"She did? Did you tell her that I am?" Calleigh flushed even more. Tim reached over and wrapped his arms around her waist. "'Cause I think _you_ look good enough to eat…or at least nibble on. You wouldn't deny a starving man one last meal, would you?"

His mouth was so close to her ear that Calleigh thought for sure that he would nip it, but Tim merely squeezed his arms around her tighter before releasing her.

His tone turned serious. "I turned her down, Calleigh. You don't have to worry about her or anyone else stealing my affection."

Calleigh took a brief moment to try and slow her pulse that had started racing the moment Tim had taken her hand in his. "Everyone I talk to says that I should forgive you," she announced suddenly.

By now Tim was used to Calleigh's unannounced changes in conversation topics. "And who, exactly, is everybody?"

"Well, really just Horatio and Natalia. And you, of course."

"What do _you_ think?"

Calleigh cocked her head and looked at Tim. "I think," she began, "That my principles aren't keeping me very warm at night."

Tim shook his head. "Calleigh, I know that may have been how things started out between us, but that's not what I'm looking for now."

Calleigh raised one eyebrow at Tim. "You know what I mean," he said, exasperated. "That's not all I'm looking for. Just that is never going to be enough for me."

"What do you want from me, Tim?"

"Everything," he said simply. "And I want to give every part of myself to you in return."

"Do you realize what you're asking for?"

He nodded. "I do."

It was Calleigh's turn to shake her head. "I _have_ missed you, Tim. And I don't want you to think that I don't appreciate what you did for me. But I'm just not sure that I can go down that road with you again."

"Calleigh, I'm not offering to take you down that road again. I never wanted to take you down that road to begin with."

Calleigh looked at Tim dubiously, and he grinned. "Well, maybe I didn't mind some parts of it. But I think we could find a better trail, even if we had to forge one to our liking."

Calleigh remained silent. "Why should I believe that I'm any different?"

Tim shrugged. "I love you. It's as simple as that. I've never cared for another human being the way I care for you."

Tim stood up and stretched, as if the conversation was over. Calleigh, who still had plenty of questions, stood also and blocked his route to the door.

"Why does all of this have to fall on my shoulders?"

"What would you have me do, Calleigh? You're the one who isn't sure. I'm not going to push the issue."

She gave him a funny look. "So that's it? You say that you're in love with me, but you're not going to fight for it? What kind of mixed message is that? And if you're not going to, as you say, "push the issue", then what the hell was all that back there?" she demanded, jerking her thumb back towards the chairs they'd just vacated.

Tim glared at her. "I've done everything short of crawling into your bed and waiting for you to join me." He stepped towards her, taking both of her hands in his, and pressing them to his chest. "Is that what you want?"

_Yes!_ Calleigh's mind screamed. _As long as you promise to stay_, her heart added as an afterthought Fear froze the words in her throat, and all she could do was look at him, watching as the hope that had leapt into his eyes slowly faded away.

When she remained silent, Tim smiled sadly and dropped her hands, stepping away from her. "You should go home soon," he said.

"I will," she promised. He nodded and walked out the door.

_TBC…_


	14. Worth Fighting For

_Here's the final chapter. Thank you, thank you to everyone who read and especially to my fabulous reviewers. It's been a lot of fun sharing this with you all. _

Chapter Fourteen: Worth Fighting For

Calleigh had promised Tim that she would go home soon, and she really had meant to keep her promise. But the bullet that he had left behind proved too tantalizing to leave, and so she stayed in the lab for two more hours until it finally gave up its secrets. Smiling smugly, Calleigh sealed up the evidence and left it on Horatio's desk. He and Tripp could file the paperwork later.

Arriving home as late as she did, Calleigh had to park quite a ways from her apartment. She walked briskly across the parking lot, not afraid, and yet very aware of everything going on around her. Even at this late hour, there were still a few people milling about – most, like her, were coming in, but there were a few preparing to go out. She trotted quickly up the steps to her apartment and let herself in, locking the door behind her and only then letting down her guard. When she turned around to lay her purse down, she screamed in surprise at the sight of Tim sitting on her couch.

"You promised me that you were going home soon," he said cooly.

Calleigh took a few deep breaths, trying to stabilize her breathing. "_Someone_ left me some evidence I had to process first. "

Tim frowned. "It could have waited."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Why are you here?"

"I thought about what you said earlier."

"About what?"

"About me not fighting for you."

"And?" Calleigh's breath caught in her throat as she recalled their previous conversation. Tim claimed to have done everything short of crawling into her bed and waiting for her – and then he'd asked her if that was what she wanted. Having given him no answer, had he finally decided to take matters into his own hands? She certainly hoped so.

"And I remembered that when I first met you, before we – whatever – I remember thinking that it was too bad that I'd had to meet you under those circumstances. I remember thinking that if things had been different, then I would have fought for you until I'd gotten you."

"I'm hardly a prize to be fought over," she remarked dryly. "I'm not some maiden trapped in a castle by a fire-breathing dragon who needs rescuing by a knight in shining armor."

Tim smirked. "That's good, because my armor's at the dry cleaners."

His smart remark caught her so off-guard that she could only gape at him, which only caused him to smirk even more.

In her surprise, Calleigh hadn't paid attention to her own movements, but she'd somehow ended up near the couch, and she yelped with surprise when Tim grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into his lap.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn, Princess?" he cooed softly, running one finger up her bare arm.

"I am not stubborn," she argued.

"Are too," Tim teased.

"Are not," she snapped back, before realizing how childish she sounded. Tim laughed.

"Admit it, Calleigh," he said softly. "We're good together."

Calleigh gasped softly. Tim's hand had strayed up her shoulder and crept over to her face, where he brushed his thumb across her lips before burying his hand in her hair. His other hand trailed slowly across her abdomen, one finger somehow managing to snag on the hem of her shirt and slip under, where it burned a hot trail across Calleigh's bare skin.

"Tim," Calleigh breathed.

"Shhh," he said, pulling her flush against him. "Shhh."

Calleigh relaxed against him then, allowing herself to be absorbed in his presence, giving into her need for his touch. Tim relaxed as well when he felt her body meld against his, and he sank back into the couch and closed his eyes. They sat there for a long while, lost in their own thoughts and in each other.

Tim would have stayed like that forever, knowing that the second either of them moved, the spell would be broken and things would go back to the awkward back and forth he and Calleigh had been engaged in since the moment they met. Were they making progress? He liked to think so. But he was impatient. He didn't want to make progress; he wanted to reach his goal. But reaching his goal involved convincing a rather unwilling blonde that he was serious about his intentions, and he didn't think _that _was going well at all.

Calleigh nestled against Tim's body, trying to put as much of her body in contact with his as possible. She had missed him fiercely, and it was only by touching him, by feeling his warm skin pressed up against hers that she knew that this time it was real. She'd imagined him back in her apartment a hundred times, had shut her eyes and wished so hard for him to come back to her that she had more than half-believed that he would be there when she opened her eyes. He never had been, but he was here now, and Calleigh's hand skimmed down his arm, reassuring herself that he was actually with her.

And if he was here, as she'd so often wished for him to be, then what was she waiting for? What else could she possibly want from him? He'd willingly jumped through every hoop she'd set out for him, as well as a few more that she hadn't asked for.

Because this – just her and Tim, alone in her apartment, stripped clean of barriers, labels and conventions – was what she knew she wanted. Here there was no past and no problems. Here there was no FBI, no CSI, no protective custody. Here it was just her and him, man and woman, both very much in love. And that, she realized, was all that mattered. Now there was just one last detail to work out.

"What if you break my heart?" she asked quietly.

"I'm not going to do that," he said confidently.

"There's no way you can possibly know that," she argued.

"If I break your heart, I'd have to break mine, and I'm rather adverse to visiting any more heartbreak upon myself."

"Any _more_ heartbreak?"

"You've been breaking my heart ever since you walked out of that hospital room," he explained.

"But we knew that our affair wasn't going anywhere." She choked on the word affair. That was all it really could be called, but it had been so much more to her.

"We said it wasn't going anywhere," he corrected her. "But that last night – do you remember when we agreed that we'd deal with tomorrow tomorrow?"

She nodded, clinging to him more tightly at the mention of their last night together.

"I was going to figure out some way for us to stay together. I don't know what I would have done – the shooting changed everything – but I was determined to find a way for us to stay together. I wasn't going to let you go."

"But there was so much you were hiding from me, Tim. That whole mess with Horatio? Didn't that cross your mind?"

"I knew I was fighting heavy odds. And honestly, I didn't have a clue as to how I was going to be honest with you about everything. All I knew was that I loved you, and that I was determined not to lose you." He sighed, as if knowing that he'd failed miserably at his task.

"But then you just let me walk out of that hospital room. It was the very next day, Tim. Where was your resolve then?"

"I'd been cracked over the head with a gun, Princess. And you were determined to find out what the bad blood was with me and Horatio. And after that…. I didn't think it mattered what I did. I couldn't fight the odds_ and_ you. I was willing to move heaven and earth to be with you, so long as I could believe that you wanted to be with me too. But you wanted to go, so I let you. Although, if I'd known that it was going to be this hard to win you back, I would have chased after you, concussion or not."

"But you're here now."

"I am," he agreed.

They were silent for a long time then. Tim absently ran one finger up and down Calleigh's arm, content to listen to her slow, even breathing.

She yawned, reminding Tim why he'd broken into her apartment in the first place. He kissed Calleigh on the temple and whispered, "It's time to put you to bed, Princess."

"I'm tired of sleeping by myself," Calleigh said sleepily, her eyes still shut.

Tim chuckled. "I didn't think you'd been doing much sleeping period."

"It's too lonely at night without you," she said, snuggling against Tim, her barriers lowering as sleep began to creep in.

"I've missed you too."

"Then stay with me." She nipped at his earlobe before kissing her way down his jaw line, stopping only when her lips were right next to his.

Tim drew in a shaky breath, his mind barely winning out over his body. "I can't," he said, shaking his head and turning his face away from her. "Not without knowing that we're not going to fall right back into the same pattern as before."

"What was so wrong with that?" she asked, cupping his face in her hand and turning it back to her, forcing him to look at her. "You stayed over, we woke up, went off to work, came home, spent the evening together…how is that any different from a normal relationship?"

"Because according to you, it was just sex."

"You know that's not true," she said. "Remember? When I said that to you in the truck that day? You laughed at me, because you knew I was full of it. It was never just sex to me, and I know it wasn't to you either. If it had been just sex, then I wouldn't have been so upset that last night. I didn't want you to leave, Tim. I'd told myself that I was going to prove you wrong, that I wasn't going to get involved with you and then ask you to stay, but I couldn't do it. I wanted you to stay, because I loved you." She paused. "I managed to tell you that I loved you, but then all that other stuff happened before I could tell you that I wanted you to stay. And that gave me an out when things got tough. I could just walk away from it all, because I hadn't said anything to you. But you stayed anyways."

"Is that what you still want?"

Calleigh's certainty found its voice. "Yes. I want you to stay – with me." She took a deep breath. "I want you to come by the ballistics lab at the end of the day and ask me if I'm ready to go home with you – to our place."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I always loved you, and I always wanted you to stay. I just…had to work through some things."

"Are you about finished working through them, Princess?"

"I think so."

"Good," he said gruffly, and then, more softly, "I'd do anything for you, Calleigh. Whatever you want. I'm not going to let you down, I promise."

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"Come to bed with me?"

He balked at Calleigh's request. She laughed. "Just to sleep," she clarified. "Now that you're here, I can finally get some rest."

"I feel like maybe I should be insulted by the idea that my presence in your bed puts you to sleep."

"You _always_ put me to sleep. It's just a matter of what has to be done first."

Tim smirked. "Fair enough."

"So can we go to bed now?"

"What happens tomorrow?" he asked.

"Can we wait until tomorrow to deal with tomorrow?" she asked, a coy smile on her face.

"As long as you can promise me that there will be a tomorrow for us."

"I'm planning on there being lots of tomorrows for us," she countered. "We're okay, Tim," she told him. "All that other stuff, it doesn't matter to me anymore. It never should have mattered in the first place. I'm sorry that it did."

"It's not you who needs to apologize," he said. "I'm sorry I ever gave you a reason to doubt me. Now no more apologies, ok?" Calleigh nodded, and Tim kissed her soundly.

After a moment Calleigh broke away. "I just want to be with you, Tim. That's all I've wanted for a long time now. I just haven't been able to work up the nerve to say it."

"That's all I needed to hear, Calleigh," Tim told her, laying kisses across her face between each word. "I'm going to be here for you, I promise. And I'll be here as long as you let me."

Calleigh giggled. "Well then, you better plan on staying a long time, because I'm not planning on letting you go."

Tim kissed her one last time before scooping her up into his arms and carrying her to her bedroom. Calleigh's arms were draped loosely around his neck, but she tightened her grasp when he tried to lay her down on the bed.

"You said you would stay," she reminded him, refusing to let go of his neck.

"I am staying," he reminded her, his back protesting the awkward position. "I'm just putting you down long enough to take off my shoes."

"No," Calleigh said, tightening her grip.

"What?" Tim asked, trying to slip out of his sneakers and nearly losing his balance in the process.

"I told you that I'm not letting you go," Calleigh reminded him.

Tim sighed, but he was smiling. "As you wish, Princess," he teased, finally pushing out of both of his sneakers and falling onto the bed with Calleigh. Once on top of her, he couldn't resists kissing her – her cheeks, her eyelids, her throat – every piece of bare skin that he could reach.

"Sleep," Calleigh reminded him, stirring in his embrace but still more asleep than awake.

"Sleep?" Tim asked, his lips never once leaving her skin. "You were serious about that?"

"Mm-hm," she murmured. Tim gave Calleigh one last smoldering kiss and rolled off of her.

"Come here," he said, pulling her into him. Calleigh came willingly, snuggling up tightly against Tim's body. Tim stroked her hair a few times, pushing a few stray strands off her face. "I love you," he whispered.

"Love you too," Calleigh responded sleepily. She drifted off then, her body twitching involuntarily a few times as sleep finally claimed her. Her last thought was that she had finally reached the place she had been looking for on that fateful Friday afternoon. She hadn't known at the time that she was looking for someone like Tim, that she wanted to be with someone who loved her for exactly who she was, someone who recognized her faults and never once asked her to change, someone who put her ahead of everything and everyone else, including himself. But found him she had, and even though it had taken her a while to realize what she had, she was not about to let him go - now or ever.

Despite being ecstatic over finally finding himself back in Calleigh's good graces, Tim felt his own eyes grow heavy. He hadn't been sleeping much better than Calleigh since she'd kicked him out of her bed, and now that he was back – for good – his mind was rapidly shutting down.

Calleigh was right. Everything else (including the diamond solitaire tucked safely away in his jacket) could wait until tomorrow. Right now, he had Calleigh in his arms, and they were both finally where they belonged – with each other. He softly kissed her temple one last time.

"Sweet dreams, my Princess."

_The End_


End file.
